Scars of an Imprinted Sister
by nerdygirly811
Summary: When Edward leaves Bella, Bianca - her younger sister - is forced to help pick up the pieces. After meeting someone new in La Push, Bianca is soon dragged into her own story involving an imprint, an incident, and the scars left behind.
1. Prologue

**Ok, so this is my first fanfic. I'm trying to figure things out and this is a test run. I've written a million stories, but didn't have internet until recently, so I couldn't post them. This story is basically another 'Bella's sister' but I wanted to try something else. Please tell me what you think and any advice you have for this first-time girly would be greatly appreciated!**

**Disclaimer: Anything in this story that you recognize belongs to Stephenie Meyer. Not me.**

Being a wolf sucked. It's as simple as that. I wasn't allowed to tell anyone, even my Mom, so I was alone. The only friends I had were Sam, Paul, and Jared. My being a werewolf had separated me from my two best friends. Jake and Quil were hurt, I knew. They were worried about me. I wished that I could tell them the truth. The only comfort I had was that they would join me soon.

"Honey, it's almost three o'clock. Aren't you supposed to meet Sam and the guys?" I heard my mom ask. I nodded and stood, hugging her on my way out. She didn't know the whole truth, but she didn't ground me like she did in the beginning. Billy and Sue had talked to her, explaining that it was tribe things and only certain people were allowed to know.

Once outside, I started running. I ran to the store, no shirt, no shoes. I was getting quite a few weird looks, but I didn't care. Those people didn't matter to me anymore. When I got to the store, the guys were waiting. They were standing out front, discussing something. I walked up and they greeted me.

"Ok, here's what happened . . ." Sam and Jared filled me and Paul in on what had happened on patrol last night. I was standing close to the door, leaning against the wall right next to it. If I had been decently smart, I might've known that someone would run into me.

But I wasn't, so I didn't. When she opened the door, looking back at something behind her, she ran right into me. I jumped forward slightly, not expecting it. I hurriedly turned to see who had run into me. The girl was kneeling on the ground, picking up the contents of her bag.

She had dark brown hair, curly hair that she preferred to let loose. She never let it grow longer than an inch or two past her shoulders because she didn't want to deal with it. The girl was wearing a yellow, pullover hoodie and some black sweatpants. On her feet she had a pair of boots, her pants tucked into them. She was decently tanned, as well as she could be, it being February and everything. She looked a lot like her sister. She was more athletic and less rounded, her face was slightly thinner. I knew who she was in an instant.

"Bianca?" I asked. The girl's head flipped up and she looked into my eyes with her gorgeous, milk chocolate brown ones, so like her sister's and her father's.

Everything inside me came undone as I stared at Bianca's tearful face. Everything that made me who I was - my love for my mother, my love for my brothers, my loyalty to them, my name, my identity - was snipped and floated away. Suddenly, there was only one string holding me where I was. Not one string - a million strings. Not strings - steel cables. A million steel cables tying me to the center of the universe.

I could see it now - how the universe swirled around this one point. It wasn't gravity that held me to Earth anymore. It was her, the girl kneeling to pick up the bag of stuff she had dropped. She stood up, still looking into my eyes, and I noticed that her's were rimmed with red.

"Embry?"

**Whatcha think? Tell me anything, I'll take it all! Sorry it's short. On my computer, it seemed a lot longer. :)**


	2. Dreams

**So this one is obviously longer. I'm so excited for people to read my story that I'm going to post the first "official" chapter before I go to bed. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Anything you recognize belongs to the lovely Stephenie Meyer.**

I was dreaming.

For one, I was walking alongside Mom on a sunny beach. It was never sunny in Forks. And I hadn't seen Mom since Bella was in the hospital in Phoenix. I had gone with her, running from James, and we had left Dad home. Bella had asked me to come with because I would be home by myself if she left; Charlie was always gone.

I knew everything. I knew all about Bella's struggle with Edward and him being a vampire. I knew how they had gotten together and had even met the Cullens, actually becoming rather close with them. I knew every one of Bella's secrets.

For one, we shared a floor. When we had moved in with Dad, he had given me his old room and cleared out the main room floor he called the "office." He moved in there and his bathroom was the one downstairs. Bella and I had the two bedrooms upstairs and shared the bathroom up there.

For two, Bella told me everything. She had explained it all and I had been there the entire time she thought she was going crazy. We were best friends because for so long, it had just been us and Mom in Phoenix. We had learned to live together and get along. There wasn't a person on Earth that I trusted more and she trusted me just as much.

For three, Isabella Marie Swan was my older sister. She was older than me by two years and a month. We were full-blooded siblings. She was the one who had helped me through everything in the past years: when Mom remarried, when we had decided to move to Forks, when we first moved here and everyone was more focused on her, instead of me. She was also there when I had liked Jacob Black. A lot. But he didn't like me, he liked her (though she didn't know that). She had helped me get over him.

Anyways, I was walking along a sunny beach with Mom. She was asking about my life in Forks and I told her.

"I'll be sixteen soon and I have a boyfriend. Gabe is amazing and I don't see us breaking up any time soon," I explained. "Bella and Edward are totally in love. It's sometimes creepy, just how in love they are, but Bella's happy. Life is great!" Mom nodded. She opened her mouth to reply, but was cut off.

"Hey wait up!" I heard. We turned around to see my sister Bella running towards us from the trees. Another clue I was dreaming - Bella was running and not falling. In fact, Bella was running very gracefully. I watched as she leapt over a large tree that had fallen and landed gracefully on the other side. She looked at me, meeting my eyes and I gasped.

They were crimson.

I looked between Mom and Bella quickly, realizing that Mom was clueless. I was her only hope. The knowledge that this was a dream was thrown out the window and forgotten. The only thing I knew was that I had to save my mother. I grabbed Mom's arm and tried to pull her away.

"Mom, come on!" I screamed. "She's going to kill us!" Mom looked at me like I was crazy, but she ran with me anyway. It didn't matter, we were too slow.

Suddenly, Bella was right in front of us.

"Why are you running?" she asked too innocently. I looked at her, refusing to speak.

"It doesn't matter anyway because you won't get very far," Bella said. She leapt towards Mom and snapped her neck with what seemed to be the lightest touch. She drained Renee's body of all blood and I couldn't help the small spasm of disgust and fear course through me. She turned to me next.

"Sorry, B," she said. "But you smell so nice." She smiled evilly and jumped forward.

I sat up, gasping and sobbing. I looked around me and saw that I was in my room. The walls were yellow and there was an outdated computer on the desk, matching Bella's. I had my art supplies scattered under the window. A glance at my clock revealed that the alarm hadn't gone off. I got up, sighing. We were a few minutes late, this morning.

I walked out of my room and over to Bella's. I opened the door and saw Bella, kissing Edward at the window.

"Happy Birthday, Isabella Marie!" I nearly shouted.

"Shut up, Bianca Helen!" Bella replied, sticking her tongue out at me. I rolled my eyes and left, giving them some privacy. I jumped into the shower, knowing that if I didn't get in first, I would have no hot water.

Charlie had already left by the time I'd made it downstairs, so I made a quick bowl of cereal. Bella was eating some breakfast as well, but was ignoring me because she knew that I'd bought her something. She hated her birthday with an absolute passion. I tossed her a wrapped present and smiled when she exclaimed at the brand new book.

"Thanks, Bianca," she said. I nodded and went back to my cereal. Gabe wasn't able to pick me up that morning, so I was forced to ride with Bella. As we were pulling in, she was glancing around, searching for Edward.

"Seriously?" I asked. "You just spent the night with him, and you already miss him?" Bella rolled her eyes and pulled in next to him. She jumped out and I followed, walking up to see Alice, jabbering away about Bella's birthday party tonight.

"Edward, you have to bring Bella and Bianca over tonight. Say, about seven?" Alice asked, already knowing the answer. She turned and rushed away. I laughed and hugged Bella, before going in search of my boyfriend. I saw him, talking to my best friend, Katie Gardener.

"Hey," I said as I walked up. Gabe turned around to see me. He leaned down and kissed me, before putting his arm around my shoulders.

"Hey, baby," he said. I smiled. I liked having a boyfriend. It was nice.

"So, what are you guys talking about?" I asked.

"Oh, we're talking about that stupid English paper due tomorrow. It's ridiculous!" Katie said. She had gorgeous blond hair, bright green eyes, and a sweet, round face. Gabe had blond hair, too, but he had dark brown eyes, almost black. I laughed at her comment.

"Oh, please. I've already finished it," I said. Gabe laughed and squeezed me into his side. The day passed without event. It was a normal, typical school day and was super boring. The only good thing was Gym. Bella was in my class, so she was always my partner. I beat every team we played in volleyball. Unlike Bella, I had no balance problems. I was actually quite gifted in the balance area.

Gabe drove me home after school. I kissed him good bye and got out, checking about our date on Saturday. He smiled and reassured me that it was happening.

When I walked in, Bella and Edward were cuddled on the couch, watching Romeo and Juliet. I gasped and rushed over, glad that they had just started it. I sat in the chair, watching it. I bawled my eyes out, along with Bella, when Juliet woke up and saw her beloved dead. The tears just kept coming as she stabbed herself and the families mourned.

Charlie came home with a pizza, being nice by not making Bella cook. We each had a piece - Edward refused - and then Edward reminded us that we needed to go. Charlie was happy to let us go. He even let _me_ go.

I got into the backseat of the Volvo and laughed at Bella's groan of horror from all the lights as we pulled up to the house. She hated any fuss and it was fun watching her discomfort at something so petty.

I jumped out (realizing that I needed to pee, but ignoring it) and rushed in as Bella took forever to get out. I joined everyone. As Bella walked in, we greeted her with a "Happy Birthday, Bella!" She blushed and looked down as Emmett and I laughed at her reaction. I turned and hugged Emmett and Rosalie. Oddly enough, Rosalie liked me and we got along great. Emmett was like my huge big brother. It was weird because I was fifteen, hanging out with a bunch of people that were around twenty physically and all over fifty, but they were family to me. They had accepted me as another little sibling.

"You're back!" I said. Rosalie laughed and nodded. I moved on, hugging Alice after she had hugged Bella, and Carlisle and Esme, after thay had hugged her. We laughed when Carlisle said they couldn't rein her in. Emmett made fun of Bella for being red-faced before excusing himself.

"Present time!" Alice exclaimed. I laughed when Bella made a big deal out of her hating presents. She tore the wrapping off of the first present and stared at the tag, covered in electrical numbers. She opened the actual box, hoping for answers before realizing that it was empty.

"Um . . . thanks," she said hesitantly. Rosalie cracked a smile and Jasper laughed.

"It's a stereo for your truck," he explained. "He's installing it right now so that you can't return it." Bella smiled.

"Thanks guys," she said. They nodded.

"I need to use the restroom," I said. "I just wanted to see you open that one." I turned and walked through the hall, going to the bathroom. When I was done and went to wash my hands, I heard something in the living room.

"No!" Edward roared. There was a crash and the breaking of glass before a huge boom, like the sound of thunder.

I stood there, my heart pounding in my ears, my hands extended for a towel. I knew that if something had happened, it was only a matter of time before they smelled me, another human, and came after me, too. The silence only seemed to get louder with each of my heartbeats and I knew that every vampire could hear them.

After minutes of an agonizing wait, I walked out of the bathroom quietly.

In the living room, I saw that the table had collapsed and the cake was smeared around the room. Glass shards sprinkled the floor. I smelled the strong stench of bleach.

"Bella?" I called fearfully.

"In here, Bianca," I heard Carlisle say. I walked to the dining room to see Carlisle, digging into Bella's arm. Bella was a mess, with blood staining her shirt and cake all over her. I rushed over and sat in the chair next to her.

"Really, Bella? Only you!" I said. She smiled weakly and went back to her's and Carlisle's conversation. I listened, holding Bella's hand, as Carlisle explained about his life and his choices. I listened when Bella asked about Edward and Carlisle told us about him in the hospital with his mother Elizabeth. He told us of her dying request. We already knew about most of it, but it was calming, just hearing Carlisle talk.

When Carlisle was done, Alice found Bella a new shirt and we left. I sat in the back, pretending to be asleep. I was hoping that Edward was focusing on his own thoughts at the moment. My mind was odd, a bit selective. He couldn't always hear me, though sometimes he could. He described it as a bad radio signal with the radio on low.

We went in, saying good night to Charlie, and went to bed. I layed down and was hoping to get dreamless sleep. Well, it was just my luck that I didn't. I had the same dream as last night. I woke up at four-thirty gasping and covered in sweat. It was horrible and I knew that sleep was impossible.

A minute later, Edward appeared in my doorway. He was so quiet that I jumped a mile in the air.

_What are you doing?! _I yelled in my mind, glaring at him.

"I have to tell you something," he said quietly. I looked at him skeptically and nodded, allowing him to continue.

"We're leaving," he said. I stared at him, uncomprehendingly. Then my eyes got wide.

_You can't! It will kill her!_ I said. He shook his head.

"It's what's best for her," he said. I shook my head vehemently.

_No! Take her with you. You can't leave her behind. She'll go crazy and no one will be able to help her,_ I said.

"You will," he said. I shook my head again, but he held up one finger. "You need to make sure she lives, for me." He seemed like he was begging. I glared at him furious that he was going to make me do this.

_Ok, but I can't help with everything. Bella made a decision to love you and accept you. You leaving is going to rip her to shreds, _I said. He nodded.

"But time will heal her. Now," he said. "Today, Bella is going to work after school. My family is leaving and if you want to say goodbye, you can come over. Alice can pick you up from school." I nodded. I wanted to say goodbye. I had become close with them as well.

_When is Bella going to say goodbye?_ I asked. He shook his head.

"I'm going to have to break up with her. I'm going to take her to the edge of the woods and do it. It might kill me more than her, but I want her to be safe. Being with me is not safe," he said.

_You're not going to let her say goodbye?! Do you know her at all? _I asked. His eyes burned.

"Yes and I love her. That is why I'm doing this. A clean break is better for her," he sighed. "Anyways, she's going to notice that I'm not with her. Don't tell her!" I nodded and he rushed back over to Bella's room.

_When you hurt her, I'm obligated to hate you._ I said. I heard a quiet chuckle from the other room. I sketched the image of Bella as vampire. She was gorgeous, and barely Bella, with glowing red eyes. That future for her was gone now.

**Next chapter sometime soon!**


	3. Goodbyes

**So, in all honesty, I'm not disappointed in only two reviews. I know that at least thirty-some people saw it and twenty-some of them went on to the next chapter. That's a score in my book.** :) **It's a snow day today and then I've got the whole weekend, so I'll post another chapter sometime this weekend. I think that's just about it. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Anything that you recognize belongs to the wonderful Stephanie Meyer.**

School passed quickly. I didn't talk to Edward and I avoided he and Bella all day. I didn't want to be around Bella, knowing that her world was going to come crashing down around her.

When I walked into the parking lot, Alice was right outside of the door, already waiting.

I jumped into the car and she drove. We pulled up to the Cullen house and I noticed that it was dark. On the porch, the Cullens were waiting. I walked up and the first person I hugged was Rose.

"Bye," I whispered. I was already crying.

"Bye, Bianca. I'm not going to forget you. You're the first human I've liked in a long time." I smiled and hugged her harder. I moved on to Emmett. When I hugged Emmett, he picked me up. I laughed.

"By, Em," I said.

"Bye, B. And hey, that Gabe dude?" he asked, brotherly. I nodded. "He's a pig. Get rid of him." I smiled and rolled my eyes.

"Whatever, Emmett," I said. He cracked a smile as I moved on to Esme and Carlisle.

"Bye, Esme," I said as I hugged her. Her face said that she was crying, but no tears fell.

"Bye, dear. Take care of yourself and Bella. She's gonna need you a lot," she whispered. I nodded.

I shook Carlisle's hand, laughing at how young, yet old he was. He told me to live a happy life. Alice was next to him.

I jumped into her arms and squeezed. Alice was like another sister, the kind that could control Bella. I opened my mouth to speak, but she stopped me.

"I know. Right back at you," she said. I laughed. I waved to Jasper and then looked at Edward.

"Come on," he said. "It's time to go home." I nodded. I followed him back to the Volvo and slipped in. The last view I had of the Cullens was their smiling faces.

After a minute, Edward broke the silence.

"What are you thinking?" he asked. I sighed and looked at him. It must've been one of those times he couldn't hear me.

"I'm torn," I said. "I can't decide between saying goodbye to the first brother-figure in my life, or hating the asshole that's gonna hurt my sister." He looked at me surprised and a bit taken aback. He was quiet for the rest of the ride, just thinking to himself, and had still not said anything when we pulled into my driveway.

I got out of the car and heard Edward do the same.

"Ok," he said as we walked to the door. "How about saying goodbye to your brother." I smiled and hugged him. Bella was right: he did smell nice.

"And as your brother," he said, pulling away and walking with me to the door. "Emmett was right about Gabe. He only wants one thing. He is a pig, and he wants to cheat on you with Katie. If he asks, Katie will do it." I looked at him and shook my head.

"Think what you want, neither Katie or Gabe would cheat on me," I pushed the door open to see Charlie, sitting there watching TV. He looked surprised to see us together.

"What are you guys doing?" he asked suspiciously. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes.

"I was over at Katie's and needed a ride. I knew Edward would be coming over, so I texted him and asked me to pick me up. I thought you were still at work," I said. I put my bag down, and sat next to him on the couch.

"Ok," he said. "As long as there's nothing going on between you two." My eyes widened as I realized what he meant.

"Ugh . . . ew!" we both said. I almost gagged.

"Ew, Daddy, no!" I said. "Edward is a brother, only a brother." I shuddered and tried to rid the images from my mind. I noticed Edward's look of nausea and mirrored it.

Charlie laughed and shook his head. "I'm just kidding. I know that neither of you would hurt Bella like that." We nodded.

* * *

><p>The next few days, I tried to spend as little time home as possible. I didn't know when he was going to do it, but I wasn't going to be around to see it. I usually came home at six, an hour after Bella got off work. I knew though that the day she wouldn't work was the day he would leave.<p>

I came home at four that day, an hour after we got home after school. I saw the truck and noticed that Bella's bag was still inside. I sighed and shook my head. I walked in and saw a note on the couch.

_Going for a walk with Edward, up the path. Be back soon. Bella._

I gasped and ground my teeth together. Great. He had taken her for a walk, and had left her there. She was probably struggling through the woods, trying to go after him. I groaned and wrote underneath it.

_Going after her. If I'm not back by six, come find us. Bianca._

I dropped my bag and headed into the woods. Charlie had taught me some tracking skills, so I followed the path and saw where Bella had gone astray. I followed her for twenty yards before her track abruptly ended. I looked around me and noticed that I was lost, too. I sighed, realizing that it was stupid to go after her like this. Charlie was going to chew me out.

I continued forward anyways, going where I would've gone if I was her. It started to get dark and I knew that I was miles into the forest. As I walked forward, I found Bella's path and after a hundred more feet, saw her.

She was curled up on the ground, mumbling to herself. Her eyes were dead and lifeless and she was shaking. I ran forward and was almost to her when I tripped over a well hidden root. I heard a snap from my ankle and groaned. Great, now I hurt my ankle trying to help my sister. Genius. The tears fell from my eyes as I pulled myself over to Bella. I sat up and pulled her into a hug, cradling her against me.

"He's gone . . . He's gone," she mumbled. I nodded and the tears fell thicker as I saw my older sister, my protector, in such a fragile state. I tried to stand, to help her up, but I nearly blacked out from the pain. I settled with cradling her head in my lap.

I sat there for a few hours. Before long, it was pitch black outside. Bella never stopped her mumbling. I cooed soothingly to her, afraid. The pain in my ankle was still there, but I was trying my best to ignore it. It wasn't particularly working.

Then the voices started.

"Bella! Bianca!" they yelled. I wanted to reply to them, but when I tried, I had no voice from crying. We sat there for another hour - with me desperately trying to coax actual sound from my throat - before I heard something.

I heard a loud snuffling to my right and turned to the noise. Three large wolves - huge wolves - rose into view. As I stared at them, they stared back with intelligent eyes. I knew that I should be deathly afraid of these huge beasts, and in the back of my mind I probably was, but I didn't react to them in fear.

"Help," I whispered. They gazed at me for a few moments. Then, without warning, they turned in synchronization and ran back into the forest. The tears on my face doubled.

A few minutes later, three figures came into view. They were all very tall and tan with black hair, a sure sign of Quileute blood. I felt my heart swell with hope. They were going to help us.

"Bianca? Bella?" I heard a deep voice say. I nodded.

"My name is Sam Uley," the middle figure said. "This is Jared and Paul. Have either of you been hurt?"

The way he said it - a bit fearful, but mostly angry - I knew that he believed in his tribes crazy legends. He believed in them whole-heartedly and knew them to be true.

"No," I said, and I couldn't help the bit of sassy attitude that crept into my tone. "They didn't bite us. They're vegetarians dumbass."

All three of their faces turned to shock. I could almost hear their shock that I knew.

"Yes, I know," I said, not thinking straight because I was exhausted. If I had been, I never would've said anything. "I know about them. I don't know how you know, but I know. And if what you think happened, had happened, we would both be screaming in pain because the venom would be spreading, burning everything that makes us human."

They were quiet for a few more moments.

"Never mind," San said finally. "Can you help your sister up so we can take you guys home?"

I rolled my eyes. "If I could, I would've already done so. My ankle's hurt."

"Ok," Sam said. "Jared, carry her on your back. I'll carry Bella." I glared at them as Paul helped me onto Jared's back. I noticed that none of them were wearing shirts. If I wasn't exhausted, this would've been very awkward.

"Don't hurt her!" I said sternly. They nodded. Then the guys were running. I was surprised that they were running so fast, but decided not to question it. I laid my head against Jared's shoulder, face on the inside. I didn't watch as the forest passed around us, afraid that I would get sick. I noticed the trees thin, though, and heard Sam yell.

"We've got them!" he said. I heard many sighs of relief as we broke through the tree line. I blushed, embarrassed to be seen clutching a half naked man. Charlie was the first to us.

"Bring them inside, boys," he said. Sam led the way and Jared followed. When we got inside, Paul helped me off of Jared's back and to the chair. Jared grabbed some pillows and set them under my foot, which I placed on the coffee table. Bella was on the couch. The doctor came in and checked us out. He had to reset my foot, but after that, there just had to be ice on it.

I thanked the Quileute boys and quickly rushed them out the door. The phone rang off the hook all night. Every ten seconds, Charlie would have to get up and answer it. Eventually, I limped over and pulled the plug from the wall. I told Dad to go to sleep and I settled back onto the chair, mentally preparing myself for the coming weeks.

Based on Bella's behavior, I knew that it would take a while for her to be whole again, if she ever was.

**Whaddya think? Anything really terrible? Anything really good? ****Thanks, everyone!**


	4. New Friends

**Hey, hey, hey! So, I was worried for awhile that people were hating my story, but then I got a few more reviews, so that was a wonderful motivator to post more. I'm sorry for the wait for Embry, but I promise, he's in this one! I hope everyone's okay with the Bianca Jake friendship/sibling bond. I'm afraid some people were going to think it's totally uncreative.**

**Anyways, I'm going to try to update some more this week. I'm not sure, though. I'm also definitely not sure how much longer this story will be. I've written stories of Bianca's "journey" through Eclipse and Breaking Dawn, but those are terrible, so I'd have to go over them again. I'm not sure if I want to post them as part of this story or as sequels or not at all. Any input?**

**Ok, now I'm done. Sorry about the long AN. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Anything you recognize belongs to Stephenie Meyer.**

Months passed. I turned sixteen and got my license. Charlie helped me buy a car as well. It was a green Chevy Cavelier and I absolutely loved it. My birthday sort of sucked because Bella was still in zombie mode. She was doing everything she was supposed to, but she was completely lifeless. It went on forever and I thought my sister had basically died.

That was, until, Charlie seemed to wake her up.

"Bella, you're going to Jacksonville to live with Renee," he said. Her eyes widened and she turned to glare at him.

"No, I'm not leaving! I'm in my last semester of school: it will mess everything up," she argued. Charlie tried to get her to leave, but she wouldn't. That was when her 'healing' began. She went out to a movie with Jess that night and when she came home, it was like she never left. She told me about hearing Edward's voice in her head. I admit, I was concerned, but Bella was back so I wasn't going to argue.

I was over at Katie's, who had been becoming distant from me, and as I drove home, I saw Bella talking to a kid in my grade. She was pointing to the motorcycles behind her. I pulled over behind her truck.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"I'm buying these bikes and taking them to Jacob. Do you want to go?" she asked. I nodded. We drove home and I parked my car, waiting for Bella to get directions from Dad before we left. He was excited that we were going.

We pulled up and Jacob met us outside. He was excited, too and I realized that he had just turned sixteen. We ended up just hanging out in his garage, after he agreed to fix up the bikes for Bella. It was completely obvious that Jacob liked Bella, but once again Bella was oblivious. Bella sat in the passenger seat while I stretched across the hood of the Rabbit. I laid on my stomach, my chin on my hands and pulled out my phone, texting Gabe the whole time. Jake talked about his friends and _his_ sophomore year.

"Quil and Embry?" Bella asked. He explained about their names and told us not to make fun of them.

"They'll tag team you," Jacob said.

"Jacob?" somone shouted. Jake sighed and looked down at the ground.

"Speak of the devil," he said. Just then, two guys walked into the garage. I realized, too late, that when they walked in, they'd get a perfect view of my ass. Smooth.

One guy was almost as tall as Jacob. He had chin length black hair that swung free and was thin. The other guy was shorter and muscled. Very muscled with a buzz cut.

"Ooooh, Jake you didn't say you were going to have company," the shorter one said. He waggled his eyebrows as he said this, looking at my butt. The taller one at least had the decency to look away. I decided to have some fun with this. I'm sure neither of the boys was expecting what came next.

I was lying face down on the car, so I put my hands on either side of my boobs and pushed up, like a push up. I arched my back, though so I was in that weird yoga pose, my boobs protruding. I acted like I was stretching like that before rolling over and sitting up, crossing my legs in the process.

I promise, I'm not usually a whore. But hey, when the opportunity presents itself, you've got to take it, right?

"Hey, boys. How are you?" I asked flirtaciously. They looked shocked - stunned into silence - and I could hear Bella chuckle a little. Jake rolled his eyes and went back to the bike.

The shorter one stepped forward. "I'm Quil Ateara." I shook his hand and nodded.

"I should've known," I said. "Jake said you'd be the one to get an eyeful." Everyone laughed and Quil cracked a smile. I turned to Embry.

"I'm Bianca," I said , shaking his hand. I had to admit, Embry was cuter than Quil. "That's my sister Bella. We're old family friends."

"Tell me, Bianca," Quil said in a flirty voice. "How old are you girls?"

"I'm a few weeks older than Jake. Bella's eighteen," I said. "And I'm taken Quil. Thanks for the interest, though." Quil smiled apologetically, like he had to at least try. I smiled and we settled into a friendly situation.

We hung out, the five of us that day. It was nice for a change of friends. I ended up talking to Embry. I told him about me and he told me about himself. I sort of had a crush on him, but I was still dating Gabe, so I didn't make any move.

Ok, that's a lie. When Bella and I left, I kissed Embry on the cheek. I acted like it was friendly, a thank you for listening to me. But when I kissed him, I made it more flirty and real. I admit, it was wrong. but I couldn't help it. Embry was really, really sweet and was cute.

Maybe, in the back of my mind, I was feeling something. Even then.

* * *

><p>Over the next few weeks, Bella, Jake, and I hung out a lot. It was nice, to have some friends, even if one of them was my sister. I sensed that Jacob didn't particularly want me there when Bella was around.<p>

Eventually, he made some stupid excuse for Bella to leave the garage.

"Ok, Bianca listen," he said. I cut him off.

"You like Bella - a lot. You want me to hang out here less, so that you can get closer to her?" I asked, a little sarcastically. I was feeling kinda hurt.

"Sorry," he said. "Don't take it the wrong way, though. You're still one of my best friends. You're sort of like a little sister, even if you are a few weeks older."

I laughed.

"It's fine, Jake," I explained. I sighed softly. "You know, when we first moved here and you told us that story on the beach, I had a huge crush on you. Like first love crush, but I noticed, even when you didn't see her a lot, that you liked her. So, I just decided to be friends. Now, I've got more romantic feelings for Quil than I do you."

Jake looked at me, alarmed.

"You have romantic feelings for Quil?" he asked. I looked at him, rolling my eyes.

"No, that's the point. You're like a brother to me," I said. He sighed relieved. "Actually, I kind of like Embry."

He grimaced into the bike.

"Embry doesn't hang around with Quil and I any more. He ignores us," Jake said. "Quil and I can't figure it out."

"Aw, Jake. I'm sorry. I didn't realize -"

He shrugged. "It's fine. I understand. Just stay away from him, okay?"

"But, Jake-"

"Bianca, do this one thing for me. He was supposed to be my best friend and now he doesn't even talk to me. Please, just ignore him."

I sighed. Loudly and dramatically. "Fine, you stupid love-crusher!"

"You're dating Gabe!" exclaimed Jake.

"So! That doesn't mean I can't look!"

Jake laughed rolling his eyes. "Shut up, Bianca. We all know you weren't going to do anything anyways."

I reached down and pulled my shoe off my foot. Then I swiftly threw it at his head. He ducked away from it and made fun of my aim. It seemed to really crack him up and before long, he wasn't even bothering to work on the bike anymore.

Then, I couldn't stop myself from laughing, too.

**How's that? Tell me what you think!**


	5. Cheaters

**So, after I posted that other chapter, I read through it and realized that it was pretty boring. Nothing really happened, other than Bianca meeting Embry and her friendship moment with Jacob - which I loved. So I feel really bad about that. E****njoy!**

**Disclaimer: Anything you recognize belongs to Stephenie Meyer.**

Over the next week, Jake came closer to finishing the bikes. I, per Jacob's request, spent less time with them, although I didn't completely avoid them. I _was_ feeling kind of hurt, but I was sort of okay with it. I was being nice, giving Bella a chance to move on and Jacob a chance to get the girl.

I was sitting at home, watching TV, when I was feeling lonely. It took me a few minutes before I remembered that I had a boyfriend. After that, I was feeling pretty stupid.

_Where r u?_ I texted him.

**I'm in Port Angeles. Sorry.**

_Ok, nvr mind._

I figured I'd go to Katie's instead. On the way, I passed Gabe's house, and saw his truck outside.

Did he lie to me?

No. Gabe wouldn't lie. We'd been together for too long. He'd never do anything like that. Maybe he went with a friend.

I remembered that Gabe's parents worked late so I pulled in and walked up to the door, intending to leave Gabe a note saying that I loved him and that he was a great boyfriend. It was unlocked so I walked in.

As I shut the door, I began to hear voices. There was a girl's high-pitched giggle and the sound of a deeper voice. I headed up the stairs to see what was going on. The noises were coming from Gabe's room, so I walked over and threw open the door.

There was the sound of a gasp. Maybe it was me, maybe it wasn't. All I know was the sight in front of me made my vision go red.

Katie, my best friend, and Gabe, my boyfriend.

Together.

In the back of my mind, I heard Edward's words from before he left. He had told me. He had known what would happen.

That fact just made me angrier.

I stalked forward and grabbed Katie by the hair. I pulled her off of the bed and slammed her face into the wall.

"Bitch!"

She fell over, her nose bleeding. She curled into a ball on the ground as I kicked her in the stomach. The blood was streaming down her chin, but I didn't care.

Katie stood up, anger etched in every one of her features. Her fist flew forward to hit me, but I side stepped and punched her instead. I felt my knuckles connect with her jaw and knew I'd be bruised.

I realized that Gabe was saying something.

"Don't hurt her! Don't hurt her!" As if he was more worried about her. As if he had never really cared about me at all.

I turned to glare at him.

"We're over," I said. My leg seemed to react on its own. All of a sudden, my foot flew high between his legs and connected in a rather sensitive spot.

I turned and ran from the house. I disobeyed almost every traffic law as I drove to La Push, going eighty miles and hour. I felt tears come to my eyes, but I pushed them away from the moment. They would have to wait until I found Bella. she would comfort me.

I could barely keep the tears back as I pulled up to the Blacks'. I got out of my car and headed inside. The tears were beginning to overflow. Billy poked his head around the kitchen and looked at me questioningly.

"Bianca? Is everything okay?" he asked. I nodded quickly.

"Are you sure?" I nodded impatiently.

"Where's Bella and Jake," I asked.

"They're in the garage. Are you sure you're okay?" he asked. I appreciated the concern, but now he was annoying.

"Boy drama, Billy! I need Bella!" I said. His eyes widened and he nodded. He had raised two teenage girls. He knew.

I walked to the garage. Halfway there, I shouted for Bella.

"Bella?" I yelled, my voice breaking. Bella's face appeared ten seconds later.

"Bianca? Sweetie are you okay?" She asked as I got closer. I shook my head.

"Gabe cheated on me. With Katie!" I said, running into her arms. I heard her gasp.

"Oh no!" I nodded into her shoulder. Bella led me into the garage where Jacob was working. I apologized for barging in, but he said he didn't mind.

"What happened?" he asked. Bella filled him in and held me as I cried.

I rarely cried, so when I did it was usually something important. As Bella held me, the only thing I could think of was my endless questions. Was I not good enough? Did I deserve it? Maybe it was my fault because I had refused to do anything except kiss him. Maybe if I'd been less stupid, none of this would've happened.

It took about an hour, but my tears eventually went away. I stood up, realizing I'd crashed their afternoon.

"I'm going to the store for some candy. You want any?" I asked. They both said no.

When I drove up, a few Quileute boys were standing outside. Upon further inspection, I realized that they were the ones that had found Bella and I in the forest, all those months ago. They were talking quietly to themselves. I looked at the ground, avoiding all eye contact.

I walked past them and into the store. I grabbed the most chocolate that I could afford and walked it up to the cash register. I noticed the girl working wasn't smiling, but she seemed nice enough. She took one look at my purchases and seemed to know.

"Did he break up with you?" she asked.

I shook my head.

"Cheater?" she asked.

I nodded.

"How did you catch him?" she asked. There was no one in the store so I didn't rush.

"I was feeling lonely, but when I texted him, he told me he was out of town. So, I was driving over to my best friend's house when I saw that his truck was outside. Long story short, I walked in and he was _with_ my best friend, the very person I was going to see. I beat her ass and broke up with him."

"Alright! Go you!" she said. She held up her hand and I high-fived her.

There was a small cough behind me.

"Oh, sorry," I said. I quickly gathered my things.

As I was walking out the door, I turned to wave goodbye to her. Then I hit a brick wall - hard. I stumbled back and managed not to fall, but my bag fell out of my hands, spilling the candy everywhere. I sighed and kneeled down to pick up my stuff.

"Bianca?" I heard. My head flipped up and my eyes met familiar brown ones. They weren't as dark as Jacob's but they were still a relatively deep brown. His hair, which had reached his chin, was now buzzed. His skin was russet brown and absolutely wonderful. I watched as his face changed from curiousity and confusion to wonder and another emotion I couldn't identify. I didn't look away from his eyes as I slowly stood.

"Embry?"

* * *

><p>Embry was still staring into my eyes. I couldn't look away from his. They were absolutely gorgeous and I couldn't believe I'd never noticed.<p>

He just nodded.

"Whoa," I heard Paul say. "That's three, am I next?" Sam shushed him.

I was still staring at Embry, completely at a loss for words. Then he opened his mouth to speak.

"Why are you crying?" he asked intensely.

I shook my head, waking up from my daze. "Oh, no reason. I think it's just allergies."

I looked at the ground, avoiding eyes contact so he wouldn't call me out on my lie. I felt firm fingers on my chin and my head was forced up to face him.

"Bianca," he said simply. I felt a jolt go through me when he said my name. I yanked my chin out of his grasp as the tears returned.

I sighed deeply and moved my hand to swiftly wipe the tears from my eyes. "The guy that I've been dating for a year - I just caught him cheating on me with my best friend."

I was silent for awhile, still avoiding eye contact. When I glanced up, Embry's eyes were closed. His face was tense and I realized that he was trembling. His arms were blurring.

"Jared, take her to Emily," Sam yelled. He wrapped his arms around Embry's chest and Paul move to stand in front of them, pushing Embry back. Embry's expression was seriously angry, like he'd like to kill someone.

"Get in the car," Jared said. He walked over to the driver's side, getting in without permission. I wanted to protest, but something stopped me. This didn't seem like the time to argue. I walked over to the passenger side and got in too. Jared was silent as he drove. I was extremely nervous about Embry.

Why had he been looking at me so intensely? Why had he been trembling? Why did he care why I was crying?

I remembered my promise to Jake, too. I had told him I wouldn't talk to Embry. Embry had ditched Jacob and Quil; I should be rude to him.

Then why wasn't I?

We pulled up to a nice little, quaint home. There were flowers growing everywhere and I felt at home, oddly enough. Two women's faces appeared in the window.

The first was a girl. She looked to be about my age. She looked rather plain, in my opinion, but her face was stretched into a huge, wonderful smile. Her raven hair was long and flat. It blew out around her when she ran outside and jumped into at Jared. He caught her perfectly and I saw that he was almost glowing, he was so happy.

"Kim," he said, his voice saturated with pure love, despite the fact that they couldn't have been any older than seventeen, if that.

The other woman walked out with a dishtowel over her shoulder. I was stunned for a moment.

Three large, pink, and puckered lines ran down the side of her face, pulling the edge of her mouth into a frown. My eyes followed them down her face and when I looked at her arm, they were there as well. I couldn't help but feel a bit sad because the uninjured side of her face was absolutely beautiful and wonderful, the kind of face that made you feel insignificant.

"Who's she?" she asked, surveying me.

"Emily," Jared said. "This is Bianca Swan. Embry just imprinted on her." Half of Emily's face broke into a beautiful smile, and Kim's just expanded slightly.

"Come on in, honey," Emily said. "You can help me cook before Embry gets back. Then he'll explain everything."

I glanced at Jared, almost asking if it was safe. He was busy with Kim, though, so I had no choice but to follow Emily inside.

**Eh? Eh? Is that better? Tell me what you think! I feel like a junkie because I just love posting new chapters, but I don't want to post them all in one night. I've been practically arguing with myself about when to add. Of course, it's easier because I've already written the entire thing. :)**

**I'll post before next weekend for sure!**


	6. Explanations

**So, I've got another snow day. Seriously, my school is getting ridiculous.**

**Anyways, I really enjoyed writing this chapter. It was fun to finally write Embry and Bianca moments. The first time I wrote this, I had intended for Emily and Kim to explain it to Bianca, but as I was reading through it to post, I realized that it would be better coming from Embry.****totalRandum has completely inspired me to post a few more chapters today. So thank you, totalRandum!**

**Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Anything you recognize belongs to me only in my dreams. In reality, though, it belongs to Stephenie Meyer.**

When I walked in, Emily set me to work. I was mixing and whisking and fixing a million different things. Luckily, Emily was a talker. She told me all about her life and her love with Sam. It was a bit calming, really, to know that love could be so easy between two people. Emily said they had a few issues in the past, but their love was stronger and they could overcome anything.

I didn't mind listening to her. She was like a wise older sister, the one who tells you what's right and wrong, and the one you want to be like. She didn't judge, she was just a friend.

By the time she was done with her story, I was completely calm. I had all but forgotten Gabe and Katie. I was nearly carefree.

That was until Embry and the other guys walked in. Then, all my worries from earlier came flooding back. The guys went straight for the food, while Embry walked over to me.

"Bianca," he said. "I need to talk to you."

"Okay," I replied. I was extremely eager to know why these people were so close. They were a family. It was weird because they were all like brothers, yet I knew that _if_ these guys were related, it was very distantly.

After a quick wave to everybody, I followed Embry outside. On the porch, he hesitated.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

Embry thought about it for a few seconds.

"We're going to the beach."

We walked to the beach. It was silent, but the silence didn't bother me. It was friendly, calm. There was no pressure to say anything. I knew he'd get to it eventually, no matter what it was. And I knew that I would accept it because based on the way everyone had just acted at Emily's, they couldn't be terrible people

When we made it to the beach, Embry led the way over to a large beechwood tree. We were almost there when I giggled slightly.

"What's funny?" asked Embry curiously.

"Nothing," I replied. "It's just . . . this is the place Jacob walked with Bella and I when he told us why the Cullens couldn't come to La Push. Jacob had thought he was scaring us, when really all he was doing was solving a really important mystery."

We had now made it to the tree. I walked over and sat on the trunk, my feet barely still touching the ground.

"Jacob told you about the Cullens? What exactly did he tell you?" he asked.

I glanced up from the ground and met Embry's wonderful brown eyes. They were curious, searching. I don't know what it was about his face, but something made me tell the truth.

The whole truth.

"He told us they were vampires, but they were vegetarians and didn't drink blood from humans."

And there it was, hanging on the air. The fact that I knew the Cullens were vampires. The fact that I had just shared a secret I swore never to share.

Oddly enough, Embry just relaxed.

"Great," he said, smiling. "That's one less thing I have to explain."

He sat down beside me on the tree and took a deep breath.

"Bianca, I'm going to tell you something, but you have to promise not to freak out. Okay?" His eyes were searching mine again. I felt as if those eyes pulled the answer right out of me.

"Okay," I said. A cool breeze blew down the beach then, chilling me. It was instinct to scoot closer to Embry and his wonderful heat.

Embry didn't notice. He took a deep breath and turned away from me, looking out from the tree to the other side of the beach. The way he was acting, it seemed hard for him to tell me. I decided not to react until he was done.

"I'm a werewolf."

He paused, gauging my reaction. I was still smiling encouragingly, not reacting until he was finished.

"It doesn't follow the moon schedule like all those horror stories say, though. I can phase - change - into a werewolf whenever I want and I don't want to hurt humans. We're built to be the exact enemies of vampires."

He glanced at me again, trying to see me react. I, of course, had gone against my decision and reacted.

I was just amazed and in wonder. He was a werewolf! That was awesome!

"Wait, so you can turn into a dog and run around on four paws?" I asked.

Embry laughed before pretending to be offended. "It's more dignified than that. We turn into wolves and we protect the tribe."

"We?"

"The pack. Sam, Paul, Jared, and me. We're a pack and together we protect La Push. It actually sort of sucks because when we're in wolf form, we hear each others' thoughts. It's terrible because nothing is hidden, nothing is private; there's no peace of mind. Anyway, Sam's the Alpha - although he's just waiting for Jacob to phase."

"Jacob?"

"Well, the last pack we had was Ephriam Black's time. He was the alpha, Levi Uley was beta, and Quil Ateara was third. Their pack was really small - just them. Because the Cullens left, the wolf gene skipped a couple generations. Billy's dad and Billy were both normal humans. Then, the Cullens moved back and set everything in motion. It's guaranteed that Quil and Jake join the pack."

"Oh," I said.

"There's more," he said. He took a deep breath and actually turned to face me, meeting my eyes. "There's this thing that we do. It's sort of our way to find our soul mate. It's called imprinting."

Distantly, I heard Jared say that Embry had imprinted on me. . . . Did that mean Embry and I were soul mates?

"When the werewolf sees her, everything about them changes. Everything they care about disappears. The only thing that matters is _her_. Suddenly, they'll do anything - _be_ anything to make her happy. They become whatever she needs, whether that be a brother, or a friend, or a protector, or a lover."

I was silent, processing the information through my head, and I gazed away from him, at the ground.

"Bianca," he said softly. He pulled my chin up so that I would meet his eyes. "I imprinted on you."

* * *

><p>I was practically stunned into silence. I pulled away from him and stood up. I couldn't deal with this right now. I'd just gotten out of a relationship, I didn't need another. I needed to get over Gabe before I did anything else.<p>

"Bianca?" he asked softly when I didn't say anything.

I turned to face him. "Embry, I . . . Embry, I can't . . . I can't . . . Embry . . ."

I stumbled through the words and I felt tears rise to my eyes, clouding my throat. I could feel hysterics approaching and I struggled to speak at all.

"Embry . . . Embry . . . Embry," I whispered, tears spilling out.

Embry reached forward and pulled my into his warm arms. I clutched at his shirt, crying terribly. It was just too much.

He held me while I cried. He didn't say anything, he just stroked my hair. I was crying for my lost relationship with Gabe. I was crying because I was seriously overwhelmed with all of this information. I was crying because my life just seemed to keep getting more twisted and weird as I moved through it.

Eventually, my tears dried up. When I was done crying, I didn't say anything. I stayed in his arms and marveled at the warmth. I fit perfectly against his chest. I felt that I belonged.

When that thought crossed my mind, I stood up, gently freeing myself from his arms. I turned around to face him.

"Embry, I just got out of a relationship. Right now, I can't handle another, no matter who it's with," I said calmly.

He nodded, not revealing anything in his face.

"So, can we just . . . ," I trailed off, unsure of what I was asking. What did I want? I knew that I still wanted Embry in my life, but I didn't want him as a boyfriend. So what could he be?

"Can we just be friends?" I asked.

His face was smooth, calm. "Friends."

"_Best_ friends," I amended, smiling a little.

"Best friends," he replied, grinning widely.

When we said goodbye at Sam and Emily's, I was grinning hugely. We were joking around and laughing together. It honestly felt like we were best friends.

He walked me over to my car and stood there, laughing at something I had said. His laughter was contagious and I couldn't help but giggle as well. When I reached the driver door, I turned to face him.

My laughter faded as I gazed into his eyes. They were my favorite part of him, the way that from a distance they looked almost black, but upon closer inspection, they were a lovely shade of dark brown.

"Well, I have to get going now," I said, gesturing to my car.

Embry looked like it physically pained him for me to leave.

"Hey," I said. I put my arms around him. "Tomorrow's Saturday. I'm coming back down to see you."

"Okay," Embry sighed.

He pulled out of the hug and made to go back inside.

"Ahem," I said. "Wait a minute."

Embry turned, raising his eyebrows at my sudden attitude. I laughed and pulled him closer. I leaned up on tiptoe - even then Embry had to lean down - and kissed his cheek softly.

"Goodbye, Embry," I said softly. "I'll see you tomorrow."

**I will almost definitely be posting another chapter sometime today. I'm hoping for a review before I post it, but I'll do it either way. :)**


	7. Anger

**So when I wrote this part, I nearly forgot to add it to the story. I almost added the next chapter. You'd all have been extremely confused if I had. ****This is also my favorite part of the entire story, just so you know.**

**Thank you, Dawn, for the great review it made my day and I just had to post this.**

**Anyways, this is a pretty interesting chapter. I love it and the scene at the end is what made me write the entire story. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Anything you recognize belongs to Stephenie Meyer.**

A week passed and Bella and Jacob weren't suspicious at all. I didn't want to tell them that I was secretly best friends with Jacob's ex-best friend. Jacob would be angry at me. Bella would be worried because she thought the pack was a "gang." It just wasn't worth the trouble of everything.

It worked out well until the next Friday.

I had told Bella that I was going to visit Jen, an aquaintence at school. I actually went and spent the day at Emily's. I helped her cook, I helped her clean. I watched some soap opera show. And then, I hung out with Embry over at his house because his mom was always working.

We were getting closer and closer. I felt as if he was perfect for me, everything I'd ever wanted, but I didn't want to make that step. I was extremely happy with our friendship and I knew that I'd never be able to live without it. I was worried that if we started dating, it would end badly and then I'd lose his friendship.

I know, I know. _He imprinted on you, Bianca. That means you're soul mates_.

So? What if something happened and it ended? I didn't know the future. I didn't know what would happen. And I wasn't going to do anything to jeopardize our friendship, no matter how much I really wanted to.

Anyways, later that night, when I drove back over to the Blacks' house, Jacob and Bella were both in the house. I walked in and Bella was fuming. Jacob was just sitting on the couch, looking slightly worried.

"Where have you been?" asked Bella in a motherly voice.

"I was with Jen. I told you that," I replied.

"Yes, you did tell me that," said Bella. "So, when I was just checking up on you, I called Jen. She seemed surprised that I would be calling her while she was _on vacation._"

Shoot. Busted.

"Now, where were you?" asked Bella.

"I uh . . . um . . . I was . . . ," I stuttered.

_"Bianca!"_

"Fine!" I shouted. "I was with Embry!"

Silence. Complete and utter silence.

Then Jacob moved. He stood to his full height, glaring down at me. "You what?"

"I was with Embry. I ran into him the other day when I was buying candy. He comforted me. We've been hanging out a lot," I explained. I moved my eyes to stare at the floor.

When I glanced down, I couldn't help but notice Jacob's trembling fingertips. I realized that his arms were shaking slightly as well. I glanced over at Billy and saw that he had noticed as well.

"Bianca!" exclaimed Jacob. "You said that you'd ignore him, for me! You completely betrayed me."

"Jacob, it's not like that; we can't stay apart!" I replied, begging him to understand. He couldn't do this now. I couldn't lose Jake. Jake was my brother. "Don't make me choose between you guys."

Jacob had stopped shaking. He looked at me steadily.

"Choose, Bianca. You can't be friends with both of us."

I faultered. Jacob was making me choose. He was making me choose between my brother and my newfound "best friend."

I couldn't choose! How do you choose?

But I realized that I could choose. And I would have to choose the bond that was the strongest. I would have to choose the one that I couldn't live without.

"Fine," I whispered. "I choose him. I have to choose him."

In quick steps, I went outside and got into my car. As I drove away - back home - I could see Bella's silhouette in the window.

When I did finally make it home, I managed to mainly avoid Charlie. I quickly ate a sandwich and headed upstairs. I was about to go to bed when Bella appeared at my door.

"So, what's the deal with Sam and his gang?" she asked.

"It's not a gang, Bells," I replied, rolling my eyes. "And I can't tell you. It isn't my secret to tell."

"So?" she said. "I've told you secrets I wasn't supposed to tell."

"No, you didn't. The only reason I knew anything was because I helped you firgure everything out. I was there when Jacob told the story," I said.

"C'mon, B," she said. "Please tell me."

"I can't, Bella. I'm sorry."

She glared at me. Then she turned and walked away, stalking back to her room.

I admit, I felt a bit bad, but I couldn't help it. I couldn't share this secret. Not ever.

* * *

><p>The next day, I was moving in hyperspeed as I got ready. I couldn't wait to see Embry and I was trying desperately to avoid Bella. When I made it downstairs, Charlie was still there.<p>

"What are you so excited for?" he asked.

"I'm hanging out with some friends at La Push today," I replied.

"Oh," said Charlie. "What friends?"

"Emily Young," I replied. "It's a sort of study day today. Kim, one of the girls on the reservation, is bringing her work with her, too."

"Oh," replied Charlie. "Okay. Enjoy your day."

I grinned. "Thanks, Daddy."

The drive to La Push felt like it took hours, though in all actuality, it only took about ten minutes. I headed over to Embry's house first to see if he was still home. I quickly pulled into the driveway and hurried up to the door.

The door opened to reveal a woman. She had obviously once been beautiful. Her raven hair was thick and gorgeous, and her eyes were the same brown as Embry's. She was aged, but it was graceful, as if she wore her age with pride.

"Hello," she said kindly. "May I help you?"

"Um, I was just wondering if Embry's here?"

"Yes. Embry's here. Who are you?" she asked suspiciously.

"I'm Bianca Swan," I replied, holding my hand out. Her face broke into a wide smile when she heard my name and she shook my hand.

"Oh. _You're_ Bianca," she said. "It's so nice to finally meet you. I'm Tiffany Call, Embry's mother. You're pretty."

I could feel my blush. "Uh, thanks."

"Come in, come in," she said kindly. She stepped back and allowed me in. Ms. Call directed me to the kitchen, even though I already knew where it was. She told me to sit down and make myself at home. Then she went to wake Embry up.

She came back a minute or two later.

"He still has to shower and then he'll be out," she said.

I nodded.

"So, Bianca, tell me how you met Embry," she said, prodding me into conversation.

"Well, I ran into him when I was leaving the store last week. Like, actually _ran_ into him," I said, figuring it would be funnier than the garage story. Ms. Call laughed.

We sat and talked for awhile before Embry came into the kitchen. By that time, we were laughing like old friends.

"This is not happening," said Embry when he walked in. Tiffany had pulled out a photo album of baby Embry and we were laughing at how cute he was.

I rolled my eyes and stood up. "Are you finally ready to go?"

"Yes, I'm ready. Let's go," said Embry hurriedly. He hurried forward and grasped my hand, pulling me from the house.

"Bye, Mom, see you later," he yelled over his shoulder.

"Bye, Ms. Call! Thank you for sharing those _special_ stories!" I called.

I heard her laugh lightly. "Bye, kids!"

* * *

><p>Embry got into the driver's side without permission. I sighed and slipped into the passenger seat.<p>

"Hey, hot stuff," I joked, waggling my eyebrows and nudging his shoulder as we drove down the road.

Embry just laughed and rolled his eyes. "You're an idiot."

"Nope. I'm just in an awesome mood!" I said. "Hey, wait, where are we going?"

We were heading out of La Push.

"Can we hang out at your house today?" he asked.

I nodded. "Yeah. Charlie's gone fishing and Bella's more than likely already over at Jacob's." I sighed. "Hopefully."

"Hopefully?" asked Embry.

"Yeah. When I got back last night, Bella called me out on my alibi. She wanted to know where I'd been and I blurted out that I'd been with you," I said. I didn't want to tell him that Jacob had made me choose. It would just anger him, or make him feel guilty.

When he spoke, his voice was calm. Too calm. "And?"

"And Jacob made me choose. He and Bella or you," I said quietly. "I chose you because I knew that it would hurt more if I was apart from you."

I glanced over at Embry. He was staring at the road. His hands were shaking on the steering wheel.

"He made you choose?" he asked in a deathly calm voice.

The shaking increased. His arms were shaking now.

"Embry?" I asked, alarmed.

His eyes were closed, trying to calm himself. It wasn't working though, so he opened his eyes again and the shaking increased even more. It was making the entire car vibrate.

I saw my driveway and the second Embry had parked the car, I jumped out. I knew that I should back away and let him be. I knew that I should just let him calm down.

But this was Embry. He wouldn't hurt me.

I hurried around to the driver's side and opened his door. I reached in and grabbed his arm, yanking him out to stand on his feet. He was like a robot, focused and trying to stop the shaking. I could see that it still wasn't working, so I wrapped my arms around his waist. I placed my head against his chest.

"Embry, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said anything," I whispered. The shaking was getting worse now. I could tell that it was getting dangerous. I stepped back to get a better look at his face.

It was flat, completely focused, yet he was still shaking. "Back away, Bianca."

"No, Embry. It's my fault," I said. Somehow, someway, this was my fault. Everything was my fault.

Embry's eyes flipped open and his beautiful brown eyes were hard. He was furious.

"This is not your FAULT!"

Fault wasn't a human sound.

There was a loud ripping noise. Instinctively, I flinched and raised my arm, dragging the nails in his paw from my shoulder to my wrist. I felt three sharp stabs of pain and then even more as the nails were dragged through the flesh of my arm. As the wolf fell forward, I screamed in pain and fell back, throwing out my good arm to catch myself.

Embry, in wolf form, stood above me. He was a thin wolf, with gray fur and a few large black splotches. He was beautiful and I wanted to reach out to touch his fur, to hug his neck, to kiss his muzzle. It fully hit me in that moment that this beautiful creature was _mine_.

His hackles were raised for a brief moment and he was growling, obviously still angry. Then, a few seconds later, he straightened up. His eyes widened in absolute horror as they roved from my left shoulder down to my left wrist. I could almost hear him hating himself.

He backed away from me.

"Embry!" I murmured.

He was still backing away, almost at the edge of the trees, more than likely unable to hear me. He howled loud and long before turning and sprinting into the forest.

"Embry!" I screamed through my sobbing.

But he was gone.

**Input? Ideas? Is it too predictable, with her getting injured? Please tell me! :)**


	8. Apologies

**So, I always figured that when I did finally get around to writing something for fanfiction, it would never live up to my expectations. I figured that I'd be completely ignored and that everyone would be hating all over my story. No one has, though, and I can't tell you how good it feels for people to be reading this, even if I only came up with one of these characters and a teen-tiny bit of the plot line.**

**Anyway, I think that's about it. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Anything you recognize belongs to Stephenie Meyer.**

I sat there, feeling the blood pulse from my arm. I knew I should get up. I knew I needed to get myself to safety, to go see Emily or something. I didn't want to, though. I wanted to lay there and never move again.

Then Embry's face floated across my closed eyelids.

I pushed myself to stand up and stumbled my way over to my car. It seemed like ages ago that I had been discussing where to hang out with Embry.

I opened the door and grabbed the first item of cloth I could find. It was a pair of sweatpants. I quicky wrapped them around my left arm - thanking God that I was right handed - and got into the driver's seat.

I drove faster than I'd ever driven in my life. I didn't want to go to the hospital. I'd go to Emily. She'd gone through this. She'd understand.

I pulled up in less than ten minutes. I stumbled out and managed to get myself up the front steps. The world was blurring in front of me. I reached for the door handle and managed to push it open.

I staggered two steps in and every head moved to look at me. I didn't have time to register faces and expressions, though.

Suddenly, I could fell myself falling and the world went black.

* * *

><p>When I opened my eyes, I was in a hospital. The ceiling above me was ugly off-white with those stupid multi-colored speckles in it. I blinked rapidly, trying to make everything come into better focus.<p>

"Bianca?"

Suddenly, Bella's, Charlie's, and Jacob's faces appeared above me. All were etched with concern

"Bianca!" exclaimed Bella, relief coloring her tone. I felt a squeeze on my right hand and knew she was holding it.

"Hey," I croaked with a hoarse voice. "What's going on?"

"You're in the hospital. You and Kim were walking through the woods when one of those animals everyone's been talking about - a bear or something - jumped you. Kim managed to knock it out with a rock and get you to Emily's," said Bella.

Bella's story made the truth come flooding into my brain. Tears rose to my eyes as I thought of Embry's horror-struck face.

"Anyway, Emily drove you to the hospital. You were passed out from blood loss, so they did a transfusion and stitched up your arm," said Bella.

Suddenly, Jacob's face moved a bit closer to the bed, making it easier to see him.

"Hey, listen, I'm sorry about last night, B," said Jacob. "I shouldn't have made you choose."

"No, Jacob, you're fine. I should've told you earlier. And I did promise that I'd stay away. I'm sorry, too," I replied.

"Bianca, you and Bella are going to be very proud of me this time," said Charlie, smiling.

"What is it, Dad?" I asked.

He beamed proudly. "I didn't tell Renee this time."

Bella and I both started laughing. She held up her hand for a high-five.

"Good job, Dad," she said.

* * *

><p>I was surprised when they let me out of the hospital later that day. All they did to my arm was sew it together and wrap it up. The bandages were flexible, too, so my arm seemed perfectly fine, just wrapped in a white blanket-looking-thingy.<p>

I was surprised that everyone believed the story. I would've at least been suspicious, but no, they all believed it. I thought that Bella, who had run round with vampires, would at least be a little suspicious. But she was the one who believed it most.

I spent most of the night painting. The wall of my room where I usually painted was completely white when I began. By the time I was done, the wall was tie-dyed every color. I painted Embry as a wolf. His tall, gray body. His dark black spots. I painted him when he was afraid, I painted him when he was angry. As I finished the last strokes on my masterpiece, a single word crept forward.

_Mine_.

He was mine. This beautiful wolf, this amazing person. He was _mine_. I was his. We were soul mates, we were meant to be. I'd been so convinced that I needed to get over Gabe that I'd denied the very thing that would help me "get over" that cheating bastard.

It hit me then, hard and fast, leaving me breathless.

I was in love with him.

I hadn't realized that I had been falling in love with him. He had stolen my heart. I was head over heels. I loved him. [Insert every other cliché saying about being in love here because I promise you, I was every one of them.]

But I'd only seriously known him for a week!

But Embry was my soul mate. We were meant to be together. It was going to happen eventually. Why deny it now?

I had to tell him. I had to let him know that I was ready for _us. _That I wanted to be with him.

Just then, there was a small tap on my window. I glanced over, but nothing was there. I went back to my painting. When the tap was heard again and I hurried over to the window.

Standing on the ground below me was Embry. What perfect timing he had.

He pointed to himself, then a large tree quite a few feet away from my window, and then my actual window. I nodded, opening the window wide and stepping back. I closed my eyes, sure he was going to get hurt and -

Embry landed lightly on my floor. The only sound was a dull thud.

We paused, waiting for someone in the house to react. After a moment, the only thing heard was silence.

I turned to look at him and he turned to look at me. I stared at into his face, but his eyes were locked on my bandages, bright in the darkness.

"Bianca, I'm so sorry," he whispered.

I walked toward him, slowly, gauging his reaction. I stepped right before him and looked up. His face was tortured, he wouldn't look away from the bandages on my arm. I reached up with both hands and moved his chin so that he'd have to look at me. His eyes closed so he wouldn't see my face.

"Embry," I whispered. "Stop blaming yourself."

I embraced him tightly, wrapping my arms around his neck. He hugged me back, but it wasn't real. He didn't want to hug me. He wanted to hate himself.

I sighed and pulled out of the hug. I took his hand and pulled him over to my bed. I stepped back and gestured.

"Sit."

He obeyed and sat on the edge, making us eye level. I climbed into his lap and curled against his chest. He chuckled half-heartedly at my bluntness. Then he moved his arms and held me closer.

"I really am sorry, Bianca," he said, leaning his cheek against my hair.

"Embry -"

"I feel absolutely awful for hurting you," he continued. "I wish I'd been able to control my anger."

"Embry -"

"I should've never let you get so close to me when I was about to phase," he said. "I'm so, so sorry. I absolutely hate myself -"

"Embry!" I whispered loud enough to cut him off. I turned and placed myself hands on either side of his face again. He _still _wouldn't meet my eyes. The one thing I wanted to see. "Don't hate yourself. I don't blame you."

He sighed. "Well, I blame me. I'm never going to forgive myself for this -"

"Oh my God," I said exasperatedly. "Embry!" My hands were still on his face. He gazed at the floor, away from me as I spoke.

As I poured my heart out.

"You're amazing," I whispered. "You're the one person on Earth who seems to understand me completely. I want to be around you every second of every day. I can't imagine my life without you anymore, and I'm only sixteen! You're funny, kind, sweet, strong: everything every girl wants. I was so set on being friends that I didn't realize that just being friends would never work."

I forced his head up to look me in the eye. His beautiful deep brown eyes _finally_ met mine. The deep brown was so gorgeous and I wanted to gaze into his eyes forever. It was enough to finish my last sentence.

"Because being friends made me fall in love with you."

I didn't wait to see his reaction. I just kissed him.

I had kissed a few boys before. I kissed my first "boyfriend" in sixth grade and my second when I was in eighth. Those had been simple, little kisses that never really counted. My kisses with Gabe, though, had been real. They had been actual kisses and I thought they were the best kisses in the world.

Until I kissed Embry.

Gabe's kisses had been fast, hungry. It wasn't my hunger; it was his. He had always wanted more and more from me, even when I was unwilling to give it.

With Embry, the kiss was slow. It was amazing for both of us. It was heat - perfect and wonderful heat - and soft movements. There was no pressure, just the feelings of the moment. One of his hands cupped my cheek while the other tangled in my hair. Both of mine slipped from his face and moved to hold his shoulders, pulling him closer. It was pure pleasure, being wrapped completely in his arms.

When I pulled away for breath, my eyes opened and I looked up at him. Embry looked amazed, happy even. Almost simultaneously, we began to smile. My smile stretched across my face and I couldn't help the small giggle that escaped from my throat before I leaned in for more.

**I'm not really good at the 'romantic' scenes. I see it in my head, but it's hard for me to write it, so I'm sorry if it's not what you wanted. There's more to this story - it goes through all of New Moon - and I'm not exactly sure how much longer it will be. I'm guessing less than ten.**

**Another snow day tomorrow - my school is stupid - so I'll probably be posting more. :)**


	9. Beautiful Friendships

**So, the end of this chapter, I just kinda wrote that part for fun. It's not really important to the story, just important to Jake and Bianca's friendship. It runs way deeper than his and Bella's ever did in the original story and I wanted to explain that. It seems that way to me, but I don't know if you guys see that, so here you go!**

**I've always imagined Bianca to be a rather strong character. There are moments when she cracks, of course, just like every other human being. I really enjoyed writing this for her, to finally show just how strong she is.**

**Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Everything you recognize belongs to the lovely Stephenie Meyer.**

I hated hospitals, it was as simple as that. They were too clean, and everything about them seemed young, but was just trying to hide the old. There was always a TV too loud somewhere and there was always someone coughing loudly and about to die. They were terrible places and I couldn't stand them.

But, unfortunately, that's exactly where I was going today.

I was with Emily and Kim for the day. I'd conveniently forgotten to mention that I was getting my stitches and bandages off today to Bella and Charlie because I didn't want them there. I wanted Emily, the one person on Earth who would understand my pain. And Kim, who knew the secret and would understand more.

Emily was driving us in her car and Kim was stretched across the extremely small backseat. It was completely silent other than the sound of the road beneath our tires. No one knew what to say.

Eventually, we made it to the hospital and the doctor finally took my stitches out. It took awhile because there were three long scars and different sections for each scar so that I could move without tearing them.

When he was done and pronounced me healed, he quickly left the room, giving us some privacy. I was silent, unable to really react. Emily and Kim were both silent as well. I stood up and headed over to the mirror.

There I was. Dark brown hair, slightly darker than Bella's. It curled and frizzed near the ends, but that was beacause I had put no product in it today. I'd been letting it grow because I spent a lot of my time with Native American women and they had inspired me.

My eyes were the same chocolate brown that I saw on Bella and on Charlie everyday. My face was delicate-looking, heart shaped. In Phoenix, I had been tan, very tan really. The sun didn't hate me as it did Bella. I was thin, but muscled, a result of being athletic.

I stood there, pointing out every feature of myself other than my injured arm. I didn't want to look. I'd hidden just how much this had hurt me. I didn't want to worry Embry, who still hated himself, but was happy because I wanted him to be.

Finally, there was nothing else to look at. I took a deep breath and moved my eyes to look at my arm.

They resembled Emily's a lot. There were three lines, bright pink and puckered, that ran from my left shoulder, down the outside of my arm, and eventually trailed off at about my wrist. They were there and obvious. If I wanted to wear short sleeves, the world would see them.

I felt tears rise to my eyes.

"Oh, honey," said Emily softly. She hurried over to my side and hugged me around my shoulders. Kim stood and hurried over to hug my waist.

"It's okay, B," she said. "You can easily hide them. It can look like it never happened at all."

I took a deep breath, hugging them both back for a moment. Then I shrugged away from their embrace.

"No. I'm not going to let these scars rule my life," I declared in a strong voice, surprising even myself. "They aren't going to affect how I dress, or make me an object of pity. I'm going to wear them proudly, a mark of who I am. These wolves are a very important part of my life and all this does is prove that. These scars are what will make me beautiful."

There were more tears in my eyes, but they were determined tears. I wouldn't let these scars ruin anything. They were just going to make everything better.

* * *

><p>I headed back with Emily to her house. I didn't want to go home because then I'd have to face Charlie and Bella, who would be back from her movie pretty soon.<p>

I had told Charlie that I was staying the night with Kim, lying through my teeth. I was actually just going to sleep on Emily's couch, but he didn't like me hanging out so much at Sam's house. He figured I was always just at Embry's.

Embry. I was going to have to show these scars eventually. How would he take it? Would he continue to hate himself? I wish he'd stop so that we could just be happy. It made things a bit stressed when I wanted to laugh and have fun and all he did was hate himself.

When we walked in, only Sam was home. He grinned widely when Emily came in and stood up to greet her.

"You know what, I think I'll let you two be," I said. I backed out slowly, making them laugh. When I made it outside, I put my hands in the pockets of my jacket and just began to walk. It wasn't too cold, so I was okay.

I don't know why, but my feet just seemed to carry me over to Jacob's house. I hadn't really seen him in awhile. I figured I'd stop by and say hello.

I knocked quickly and had to wait a moment for Billy to wheel over and answer the door. When he finally did, he grinned.

"Hello, Bianca," he said. I felt the rain get heavier against my jacket.

"Hey, Billy," I replied. "I was just wondering if Jake was home."

"No," said Billy. "He's out with Bella at a movie. He should be getting home pretty soon, though."

"Well, can I just hang out here until he gets back?" I asked. "I don't want to walk all the way back to Sam's in the rain."

"Sure," he said. He scoot back and allowed me into the house.

I stepped in and quickly pulled my wet jacket off. Billy gazed with wide eyes at my scars.

"Oh, I just got the stitches out today," I said, twisting my arm so that I could see them. "I've been avoiding Charlie because he'll freak out when he sees them. So will Bella. So, I'm hanging out at Emily's this weekend."

Billy just nodded, still a bit speechless. Then he turned back to his TV.

I hung my jacket up and settled on the couch to wait for Jacob. It had been a long day and rain usually made me tired. Before long, I was nodding off on the couch. I tried to wake myself up each time, but it had been a really hard day. . . .

Suddenly, there was something pressing against me.

I opened my eyes to see a mound of red brown. Upon closer inspection, I could see that it was fur and it was shaggy. I glanced over and saw the back of a head, ears pointing up. I could feel the contours of ribs pressed against my legs.

The animal was whimpering and whining like crazy. It was shaking and was trying to stand, but it was obviously weak. It must've stumbled around and fallen sideways onto the couch.

Jacob.

Just then, Jacob moved and I felt my ankle - the one that had been injured back when Bella was a newborn zombie - flare in pain.

"Ow! Get off! Get off! Get off! OUCH!"

I put my hands on his side and pushed against him, my fingers sliding against his shaggy fur. I managed to move him enough to slip my ankle to safety. I quickly stood on my good foot and jumped across Jacob and the living room to where Billy was sitting in his wheelchair.

To catch myself, I had to put my other foot down and my ankle flared in pain, causing my leg to collaspe beneath me. I fell to the ground a few feet away from Billy.

"Dammit, Jacob, you jackass! You hurt my ankle!"

I quietly screamed in frustration.

"Bianca, Jacob can't help it," Billy said calmly. "This is the first time he's phased."

I sighed guiltily. "Right. Sorry. I'll just head back over to Sam and Emily's."

I stood on my good foot and attempted to limp over to the door. It didn't work and my ankle flared in pain again.

"Actually, Billy, I don't really want to walk in the rain. Can I just stay here tonight?" I said through gritted teeth.

"Sure. Actually, Emily called when you were asleep and when I told her you were sleeping, she brought your bag over," he said. He tossed it to me. "You can sleep in the girls' room."

"No, it's fine," I said, imagining Rachel and Rebecca's creepy old room. "I'll just go sleep on Jacob's floor. There's enough room for me there."

As I limped down the hall, I paused to grab a few blankets from the small closet. Then I made my way back to his room.

I quickly changed into my pajama pants and my tank top, all while balanced on my good foot. I laid out the blankets on the floor in his room and stole a pillow. Then I moved my bag to rest by my head and laid down.

In the back of my mind, I remembered when I used to stay with Jake, before I started dating Gabe.

* * *

><p>I had moved to Forks and hadn't made any friends. Bella was doing really well compared to me. She was gorgeous and everyone loved her, instantly accepting her. I hadn't found a 'clique' so I was often by myself.<p>

Then I had actually joined Charlie on a fishing trip one Saturday morning. We drove down to Billy's and I had met Jacob, instantly sparking a friendship. We had laughed like old friends and I was amazed that there was someone so much like me, but so different.

That's why I had liked him - in a romantic way. He was the first actual friend I had in Forks and I'd clung to it, maybe a little too much. I didn't tell him, though, because I didn't know if he had liked me back. We grew extremely close and we were nearly inseparable. I was down there all the time, though I never ran into Quil and Embry, oddly enough. Thinking back on it, I have no idea how that happened.

And then, when I had introduced Bella and Jacob on the beach, it was instantly obvious that he liked her. I felt hurt, betrayed, because once again, my older sister got everything. I explained to her that I liked him, but it would never work, so I decided to be friends. I remained good friends with him all throughout the end of my freshman year and the summer afterwards. That summer, I half-lived at the Blacks'. At some point, I realized that he was like my best friend, my brother.

And then, a few days into sophomore year, Gabriel Minix had approached me at my locker. He told me that he liked me and asked me out. I, of course, accepted. I mean, he was Gabe Minix, king of the juniors! He played all sports and was extremely popular. Suddenly, I was pulled into a whirlwind of a crazy social life.

Gabe didn't like that I hung out with Jake a lot. He gave me an ultimatum: Jacob or him. I was stupid, high on popularity. I stopped talking to Jacob, stopped going down to see him, and basically ignored him. He didn't seem particularly bothered.

And then, when Bella had mentioned the bikes, I'd gone to see him and it was almost like nothing had changed. Except that I had. I had become one of those popular mean girls and in the time before Jacob asked me to give him and Bella "space," I tried to erase that. Apparently it had worked because then Gabe cheated on me.

* * *

><p>This is what I thought about as I laid on Jacob's floor.<p>

I realized just how much of a terrible person I'd become. I was disgusted, absolutely hated myself for doing anything so stupid. I'd chosen a boyfriend I'd barely known over a best friend so close that we were siblings.

I had to apologize for it. I had to tell him I was sorry for being such a bitch.

I could hear Billy talking soothingly to Jacob in the living room, but I didn't want to intrude. So I laid back, waiting for him to have to sleep. . . .

**Review and tell me what you think! :)**

**P.S. I realize that Bianca had said that she'd been dating Gabe for a year. Sorry, completely my fault. She hadn't been dating him for a year. It was a complete slip on my part.**


	10. Revelations

**Hey, guys. I feel absolutely awful for the extremely slow update. My computer took a crash and the people who said they could fix it in a week tops took a freaking month! That's the last time I go to them!**

**This chapter is pretty long, hopefully making up for the terrible update. It picks up right where the last one left off. My favorite part was the wakeup in the beginning. :)**

**I think I'm going to go as far as Bella getting in trouble for the bikes, but I'm very very iffy on it. Input, please! I'd really really like some more reviews and I want some more input.**

**Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Anything recognizable belongs to the very creative Stephenie Meyer.**

When I first woke up, I was disoriented. Why was my bed so hard? Why couldn't I stretch my arm further? And why did it sound as if a train was about to hit me?

I was laying on my stomach, so I lifted my head and attempted to sit up crookedly. My eyes were barely open, my head fogged from sleep. The bun I had slept in was crooked and felt off centered. I could feel the flyaways tickling the back of my neck.

I was in Jacob's room, sleeping on the floor and wrapped up in blankets. On the bed, a foot or two above me, Jacob was snoring. His arms and legs hung off at odd places because the bed was too small for him. He was laying on his back and snoring like train.

"Oh," I said softly as I remembered what had happened last night. I groaned and flopped back down on my pillows. I would have to face everyone today. I'd have to actually let people see my scars.

I grumbled as I attempted to move my blankets to a more comfortable position. I was not going to be in a happy mood. It wasn't that I was ashamed of my scars, it was just that I didn't want the attention, or pity.

I tried to fall back asleep, but Jacob's train noises - excuse me, _snoring_ - made that impossible. I sighed and grabbed my pillow. I swung it around and smacked it against his face, causing that hollow _puht_ sound.

"Jacob, you sound like a train is living in your nostril! Shut the hell up, fucker! Some of us are trying to sleep!"

As you can see, I was a complete morning person.

He jumped and opened his eyes, sitting up straight. "I'm up, I'm up!"

"Hey," I said, feeling guilty for waking him. "I didn't mean to wake you, I was just trying to get you to shut up. I'm sorry."

He shook his head groggily. His eyes were squinted and his words ran together. "No, it's fine, B. I forgot you were even here. What time is it?"

"Um, I don't know. I think Billy's awake, though, so it's gotta be past eight," I said.

He nodded and went as if to run his fingers through his hair, but it was gone.

"Wow. I see you got a makeover last night."

Jacob rolled his eyes and leaned back against the wall, facing me. "It's more convenient when I'm a wolf."

"Oh, right," I replied. "I forgot that you phased last night."

He nodded. "Yeah."

I paused, unsure if it would be rude to ask my question. Then the words tumbled out.

"Well, now you know the big secret. You finally understand," I said.

Jacob shook his head. "I don't want to understand. I don't want this responsibility. I want to just be me, building the Rabbit in the garage. I don't want anything else. This basically takes away all freedom I have."

"But you're Alpha, Jake. You have _everyone's_ freedom," I said, rolling my eyes. He was born into the Black line, so when he phased he would've accepted Alpha position.

Jake looked guilty. "I'm not Alpha."

"What?"

"I'm not Alpha," he repeated. "When I had finally stopped freaking out, Sam asked me if I wanted to be Alpha. I told him no."

My mouth was hanging open like I was an idiot. "Why did you do that?"

"I didn't want the responsibility. Sam was doing just fine without me, so I'll settle for being second."

I was speechless. We sat there for awhile. I was thinking about all of the times I took the leadership position when I could've passed it off to someone else. Maybe someone else really wanted that position. Maybe someone else would've been better suited for it.

"You know, Jake, there's something I have to apologize for," I said, remembering my promise last night.

"What is it, B?"

"We were basically best friends when I first moved here and all last summer. Then, when sophomore year began, I ditched you. All for Gabe, who turned out to be the worst guy imaginable." I shook my head, trying to clear it. "I guess, what I'm trying to say is I'm sorry for not being a better friend and sticking by you like I should've. I should've never let a guy tell me I couldn't be friends with you."

Jacob stared into space. "It's okay, B. I never blamed you. I figured you were happier around him, so I wasn't going to complain."

Jacob seemed to remember something. He closed his eyes and laid his head against the wall.

"Jake?" I asked tentatively.

"I can't see Bella again. She can't be around me, it's not safe. I have to break my promise to her and I can't bear to do it. I'm so afraid that me leaving is going to hurt her again, like she was hurt when _he_ left," he murmured.

"Why can't you see her?" I asked. "She's Bella. She knew about bloodsuckers before everyone - except Sam. She could probably be trusted most."

"Sam won't listen to me. He's refusing to let me tell her, and she's not safe while she's around me. I don't want to hurt her," he said.

I rolled my eyes and stood up, flexing my ankle that had been hurt last night. Good to see it had only been twisted. Now I was fine.

"You know, Jacob, spending time together takes two people. She has as much a say as you do. And if it's so unsafe to be around you, why am I still unhurt?" I asked.

"Because Embry imprinted on you. It's absolute pack law that a wolf cannot hurt the object of another's imprint. It's almost impossible for me to hurt you. Besides, Embry already did that." His eyes roved down my left arm, where the scars were standing out proudly.

I shook my head. "Whatever, let's go eat you're probably starving."

"How would you know if I'm hungry or not?" he asked.

"You're a werewolf," I said, walking to the kitchen. "You're _always_ hungry."

After we had eaten and I had showered, Jacob and I drove over to Emily's. My bag was nestled nicely at my feet and I was just enjoying the car. When we pulled up, I saw that Jared's car was also there, meaning Kim was here. I jumped out and led the way in.

Emily and Kim were already cooking, so I grabbed a spatula and went to flip some pancakes. I fell into their rhythm seamlessly, something that came naturally. Jacob looked like he was awkward around the guys, but he joined them nonetheless.

Almost all of my favorite memories of my life were spent in that house. That day was one of them. The sense of family I got from being around them was incredible. It wasn't like that with my family. We were all introverts that liked to be alone.

Later in the day, Embry and I headed over to his house. He turned the TV on and we just sat with each other. I was nestled into the crook of his left arm, my head fitting nicely against his shoulder. My feet were tucked up next to me.

Suddenly, Embry looked over at me. "Bianca, take your jacket off. You look like you're roasting."

I was sweating because I had refused to take my jacket off and reveal my scars to him. His crazy heat was roasting me and the jacket was making it ten times worse.

I shook my head. "I'm fine."

He sighed. "Bianca. Take the stupid jacket off. You don't even like that one."

"I like it today," I corrected.

Embry pulled away. He looked like it physically pained him to do so and it probably did. He craved being around me more than a regular person does with their partner. The imprint usually also prompted him to agree with everything I did - which I hated. I hated feeling like I ordered him around, so one of my rules was he not listen to everything I wanted.

I was regretting that now.

"Well you can't be so close to me then because I'll roast you," he said. He moved to sit on the chair across the room.

"No, Embry," I whined, reaching out for him.

He grit his teeth, fighting against his instinct. "Take the jacket off."

The way he said it, coupled with the way he was looking at me - I knew he knew I was hiding my scars.

I sighed and unbuttoned the jacket. I held up my hand. "Don't move."

I slipped the jacket off and tossed it a few feet away. I turned to glare at him.

"Now. These scars don't change anything between us. I still love you with all of my heart and I don't blame you for these scars. They are a mark of how strong I am. They make me beautiful."

I glared at him determinedly, ignoring the horrified and guilty expression on his face. His eyes roved down my arm before the traveled back to my face and connected with my own. The gorgeous brown eyes nearly made me melt as they always did, but I was holding my own.

He stood and was over to me in two seconds. He reached down and gently pulled my arm so he could see the scars more clearly. He rotated my arm for a few seconds before he leaned down and kissed the three long puckered lines.

My mouth was hanging open at his reaction. I expected him to completely hate himself and run out of the house and refuse to be around me and hurt me more. I expected a major freakout before he would ever touch me again.

He let go of my arm and reached down to my waist, pulling me closer to him. My hands moved of the own accord and moved to his shoulders.

"You're right," he said, melting me with his eyes. "And I'm very, very sorry for them. But you are the most beautiful and strong woman I will ever know. These scars are a mark of the risk you take each time you're around me, yet you still do it. You're amazing and wonderful and I don't understand how I was ever lucky enough to find you. I love you with all of my heart and I always will."

The words were so beautiful that I was amazed Embry said them. I could feel a few tears enter my eyes and I smiled widely, my hands moving to cup the side of his face.

"Really?" I asked incredulously.

"Really," he replied, smiling down at me.

I couldn't help but smile wider before he leaned down to kiss me.

**Please review! I need a pick-me up right about now.**


	11. Meadows

**So, I wrote this chapter to make it more obvious to how this story lines up with New Moon. I also kinda wanted Bianca to seem badass against a vampire because she's protected, so I used this scene. A lot of it is very, very similar to the book and I did that to make it seem more real. Plus, I'm really uncreative so I couldn't think of anyway to rewrite it worthy of the original story.**

**Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Anything that I haven't made up belongs to Stephenie Meyer.**

After two very long weeks of Bella, asking me if I'd seen him, and me, replying stoically everytime that I had not seen him, I decided to stay in on Saturday. I wanted to spend time with Bella, show her that I was still there for her now that Jacob couldn't be.

He was dying to see her even more than she was dying to see him. He was always going on about a broken promise and how it was probably killing her. I realized in the time they were apart just how much Jacob loved her. All he ever talked about was her, and how she was doing. I could see that Bella would soon be with him. She was denying it, mainly because Jacob was her safety, her safe haven, but she was falling for him, too. I could see it in the way it was killing her, as if it was a breakup and not just Jacob ignoring her.

Anyways, that was how we ended up trekking through the woods, searching for some meadow she was obsessed with. First, we drove in her ridiculous truck to a dead end street. Then, we trudged for miles through the woods trying to find this special place. I suspected that she was just hoping to hear _his_ voice again.

She was _so_ lucky I loved her and didn't want to lose her, or I would've ratted her out for her crazy delusions long ago.

After hours of walking, Bella looked up ahead of us and her breath caught. I glanced up and watched as she pushed two ferns aside and stepped into a meadow.

It was a dead meadow, obviously - it being March and all. But there were still traces of the where the beauty would be. I could see why she had wanted to find this place so much.

Bella took a few steps in before she began to cry. They were terrible, heart-wrenching sobs that made a person want to rip their heart out. She fell to her knees and I realized just how much of a mess she was over the loss of Edward. He had been the one to understand her most, to make her feel truly loved. I could do nothing but kneel next to her and put my arm around her shoulder.

After quite awhile, Bella's tears stopped. She managed to stand, composing herself quickly. I turned to leave, hoping she'd follow, when I heard Bella exclaim.

"Laurent!" she cried.

"Bella?" I heard a beautiful voice ask. It was obvious in the tone that it was astonished to find her here.

I turned quickly to face the newcomer.

He was tall, with an olive tone to his features. When he spoke there was a French accent. His eyes were a dark, dark crimson - he was thirsty.

And he had just found two wonderful meals.

"You remember," smiled Bella. Laurent nodded and his eyes flickered to me. "Oh, this is my younger sister, Bianca."

"Oh, how fitting," he said softly. "Bella - beautiful. And Bianca - pure. Wonderful."

I nearly puked in my mouth. Why was Bella being so nice to this guy? He was a vampire with red eyes. Red flag anyone?

"I didn't expect to see you here," he said. He strolled forward, as if nonchalant, and brought himself closer to us. Bella just continued smiling like an idiot.

RED EYES, YOU MORON!

"Isn't it the other way around? I do live here. I thought you'd gone to Alaska," Bella said. Laurent stopped about ten steps away, cocking his head to the side. He was beautiful, there was no denying that.

"You're right," he agreed. "I did go to Alaska. Still, I didn't expect . . . When I saw the Cullen place empty, I thought they'd moved on."

"Oh," Bella said, biting her lip. I could almost see the pain move through her. After a minute, she spoke again. "They did move on."

"Hmm," he murmured. "I'm surprised they left you behind. Weren't you sort of a pet of theirs?"

"Something like that," Bella said, smiling wryly.

"Hmm," he said, thoughtfully. He continued looking at Bella and the gears clicked into place in her head at the sight of his red eyes. She took a small, involuntary step back.

Well, it only too you long enough. Geez. I must be the smart one, if it took her so long to notice his eyes.

"Do they visit often?" Laurent asked. I was staying quiet throughout the exchange, trusting Edward's voice in Bella's head to keep us safe. Bella jumped slightly and based on her expression, I guessed that she had heard him.

"Now and again," she lied terribly. "The time seems longer to me, I imagine. You know how they get distracted. . . ." I mentally yelled at her to shut up and stop rambling. Nothing ever made lying so obvious.

"Hmmm," he said again. "The house smelled like it had been vacant for a while. . . ."

"I'll have to mention to Carlisle that you stopped by. He'll be sorry they missed your visit." She thought for a second. "But I probably shouldn't mention it to . . . Edward, I suppose -" His name twisted her expression into pain, ruining what was probably her best lie ever. "-he has such a temper . . . well, I'm sure you remember. He's still touchy about the whole James thing." She rolled her eyes and waved her hand. She was getting hysterical and I silently prayed for her to calm down.

"Is he really?" Laurent asked almost dubiously.

"Mm-hmm," Bella said simply. Laurent took a small step sideways, acting like he was looking at the meadow, but he was coming closer to us.

"So how are things working out in Denali? Carlisle said you were staying with Tanya?" Bella questioned.

Laurent paused. "I like Tanya very much," he mused. "And her sister Irina even more. . . . I've never stayed in one place for so long before, and I enjoy the advantages, the novelty of it. But, the restrictions are difficult. . . . I'm surprised that any of them can keep it up for long. Sometimes I cheat." He smiled like he was sharing a secret with us. Bella moved her foot back slightly and Laurent's eyes flickered to it.

"Oh," Bella said faintly. "Jasper had problems with that, too."

"Really? Is that why they left?" Laurent asked.

"No, Jasper is more careful at home," Bella said.

"Yes, I am, too," Laurent agreed. He took a deliberate step forward.

"Did Victoria ever find you?" Bella asked. She was breathless and it was obvious she was thinking of running. Laurent paused.

"Yes," he said. "I actually came here as a favor to her. She won't be happy about this."

"About what?" Bella asked. Laurent smiled innocently.

"About me killing you," he answered. Bella staggered back. I copied her.

"Embry, please help me," I whispered quietly. His bloodsucker stench was probably blowing all over. I was almost positive one of the wolves had smelled it and were coming to save us.

Bella didn't hear me, but Laurent did. He gazed at me before turning back to Bella.

"She wanted to save that part for herself. She's sort of . . . put out with you, Bella."

"Me?" Bella squeaked. He shook his head and chuckled.

"I know, it seems a little backward to me, too. But James was her mate, and your Edward killed him." Laurent was serious. Bella closed her eyes and slightly flinched at Edward's name.

"She thought it more appropriate to kill you than Edward - fair turnabout, mate for mate. She asked me to get the lay of the land for her, so to speak. I didn't imagine you would be so easy to get to. So maybe her plan was flawed - apparently it wouldn't be the revenge she imagined, since you must not mean very much to him if he left you here unprotected," Laurent explained. Bella flinched again.

Laurent shifted forward, making Bella and I stumble back.

"Come on guys!" I whispered again, silently begging one of those stupid mongrels to hear me.

Laurent frowned. "I suppose she'll be angry, all the same."

"Then why not wait for her?" Bella managed. Laurent smiled mischievously.

"Well, you two have caught me at a bad time, Bella. I didn't come to _this_ place on Victoria's mission - I was hunting. I'm quite thirsty, and you do smell . . . simply mouthwatering." Laurent paused as he inhaled. "You-" He pointed at me. "- on the other hand, smell like wet dog."

"I know," I said, grinning widely.

Laurent glanced at me curiously. I was smiling smugly.

"He'll know it was you," Bella whispered. "You won't get away with this." Laurent smiled wider.

"And why not?" he asked. "The scent will wash away with the next rain. No one will find your bodies - you'll simply go missing, like so many, many other humans. There's no reason for Edward to think of me, if he cares enough to investigate. This is nothing personal, let me assure you, Bella. Just thirst."

"Please," Bella begged.

Laurent shook his head.

"Look at it this way, Bella. You're very lucky I was the one to find you," he said.

"Am I?" Bella asked, stepping back. As I stepped with her, Laurent followed.

"Yes," he assured me. "I'll be very quick. You won't feel a thing, I promise. Oh, I'll lie to Victoria about that later, naturally, just to placate her. But if you knew what she had planned for you, Bella . . ." He shook his head slowly, disgusted. "I swear you'd be thanking me for this." He inhaled deeply and looked at Bella, ignoring me.

"Mouthwatering," he said. Bella cringed away, but he turned to me instead.

"Would you like to beg as well? I'm sure you'll feel a lot better knowing that you've done everything you can when I kill you," he smiled evilly. "Beg, Miss Pure."j

Suddenly, there was a noise. It was loud and vicious, ripping through the quiet meadow. I wasn't sure if it was a growl or a snarl, but I knew it came from Embry. Its tone clearly told Laurent that he was about to die.

"You see, Laurent," I said smiling smugly. "This is why I don't beg."

Bella glanced up at me upon my words, looking midly surprised and curious. I swear, if I kept giving her more hints, she'd know even more about these wolves than I would. But still, she refused to connect the dots.

At my words, a black wolf shrugged through the trees. I recognized Sam and smiled hugely, secretly sighing in relief. Two more wolves followed. One was gray - Paul - the other was brown - Jared. After them came two more wolves.

"I don't believe it," whispered Laurent. His eyes were wide with fear.

The gray wolf with large black spots was across the clearing, but his eye turned to gaze at me. It winked and I grinned back, blowing a small kiss. Bella was preoccupied with the large rusty brown wolf. She gasped and jumped back. The rusty monster, Jacob, turned to look at Bella. I knew he missed her.

I was actually hoping that she'd see his eye and she'd think of him and the pieces would begin to fit together.

But _no_. Again, nothing. Sometimes I seriously questioned if she was the smart one and I was the athletic one. (Well, everyone knows I'm the athletic one, but still. Just trying to make a point.)

"Maybe, you should run, Laurent," I said simply. "I'd hate to see what happens when they catch you. . . ."

I held up my hand before my face, pretending to examine my nails. Maybe I was giving too much away in front of Bella, but I think that at that moment, she was honestly just terrified. She was terrified

Sam growled loudly, adding more threat to my words. Laurent turned with inhuman speed and sprinted into the woods. The wolves followed, hot on his heels.

Bella turned and sprinted in the exact opposite direction. I had no choice but to turn and follow her.

**The pack is going to kill him! :)**

**Review, please!**


	12. Stories

**I am so sorry for the wait. I got into some trouble - don't ask - and was grounded indefinitely from everything that ever gave me joy. My Mom only just decided to give me my laptop back today and I've been writing like crazy to finish this story. I feel awful and hate when this happens to me, so trust me: I understand.**

**This chapter is sort of a filler. It literally says "filler" in my notes. I'm going to put up a really good one to make up for this terrible one. ****(Hint: a certain someone is going to meet other certain people and learn a certain secret.)**

By the time Bella stumbled out of the trees and onto the trail, she was covered in grass stains a shallow scrapes. I stepped out after her, noticeably less injured.

"Bella, I'm driving," I said simply. I took the keys from her fumbling fingers and hopped into the driver's seat. She was terrified. I'd never seen her look so utterly afraid.

"Are you all right?" I asked.

"How long do you think it will take before Laurent gets back to Victoria?" Bella twitched around in her seat to look out the back window.

"I don't think he's ever going to get back to Victoria, Bella," I said soothingly. "Those wolves looked pretty scary. He seemed afraid of them, anyways."

"What? Laurent's a vampire! Why would he ever be afraid of wolves?" she asked.

I rolled my eyes. "I don't know, maybe because wolves and vampires are supposed to be mortal enemies or something?"

"That's werewolves," said Bella. "Werewolves don't exist. I'm sure -" She fumbled, about to say his name. "- I would've heard about them."

"Whatever, Bella," I said, pulling into the driveway.

"Maybe you don't quite know everything."

I cut the engine and Bella, considerably calmer, hopped out. "I'm going to tell Charlie what happened."

I sighed, knowing that I could not stop her from revealing the fact that they were wolves. However much I wanted to, I could not protect my wolves without revealing their secret.

I quickly bypassed Charlie - and his anger - and headed for the phone.

"Hello?" asked a very familiar voice.

"Emily," I said.

"Bianca!" she replied. "What's up?"

"I was wondering if the guys had made it back yet?"

"Not yet," she said. "Why? How did you know they were out?"

"I might've just run into them."

"What?" she exclaimed. "What hap-"

There was a chorus of deep voices suddenly heard in the background.

"Will you be quiet! I'm on the phone!"

"With who?"

"Bianca."

There was suddenly some movement before I heard Embry's voice. "Bianca."

"Embry! Oh my God, you're okay! You all gave me a heart attack!"

I could hear the smile in his voice. "C'mon, B, we're fine. So, do you wanna know what happened?"

I grinned and hopped up onto the counter, preparing for a long conversation. "Sure. And make sure you tell me all the details."

"Okay, so Jared and Paul were on patrol . . ."

As I listened to Embry tell me the - terrifying - story of how he and his brothers defeated a vampire, I couldn't help but smile. He seemed so happy that I was listening, that I was interested at all. I jumped in with all the right questions and groaned and cheered at all the right moments. I wanted to make him happy, wanted to hear the story. I grinned the entire time.

Embry sometimes described the imprint as his world revolving around me. Everything he did was for me. He was whatever I wanted him to be. He was my protector, my soul mate, my best friend. He was mine. Mine, all mine.

But as I listened to this story I realized it went both ways.

My world revolved around him. I wanted to be everything he deserved. I wanted to be there for him, I wanted to laugh at his jokes, I wanted to love _him_. Everything that I was - and ever would be - was for him.

"I love you," I said suddenly, cutting into his story. It was the first time I had ever said the words. I'd said that I loved him, but I'd never said it so straightforward and honest.

"What?" he asked.

"I love you," I reiterated with a smile.

"I love you, too," he replied. I could just imagine the smile that spread across his face.

"Good because if you ever do something like that again, I will kill you," I said.

He chuckled. "I'm counting on it."

**Again, so sorry. The next few will be up in the next few days, I promise. I think I'll put the one after this up tonight.**

**Please, please, please review. I like to know that someone is reading, even if it's only the one person.**


	13. Breakfast Strategies

**Here is the "I'm sorry" gift for not updating in forever and then posting a filler. I love you all!**

**Disclaimer: Anything that you recognize from The Twilight Saga belongs to the beautiful Stephenie Meyer.**

When I woke up, Bella and Charlie were both gone. I didn't even have to think about how to spend my day.

Emily was cooking breakfast when I walked in to her kitchen about forty-five minutes later. She grinned at me when I walked in.

"Well, good morning, Sunshine," she said.

I rolled my eyes, snatching a piece of bacon up. "Good morning. Where's all the guys?"

"One of them called a meeting, I guess. Sam ran out of here like someone was being killed," she said. Emily tried to pull it off as if it didn't bother her, but I knew it did. It bothered me, too, but I didn't want to think about it.

I jumped right in line next to her, mixing some ingredients together for muffins. It was quiet between us for awhile before the sound of a roaring engine was heard.

The door opened, allowing Jared and Embry inside. Embry grinned when he saw me and swept over to kiss me quickly. "Good morning."

I laughed and pulled him down for another quick kiss before letting him go for the food.

"You guy's hungry?" asked Emily, popping the muffins on a plate. She turned and her eyes locked on something over my shoulder. I heard a small gasp behind me, almost inaudible.

I flipped around, feeling my curls fly, to see Bella, standing in the doorway. Her eyes were wide with surprise.

"Oh," said Emily. "Who's this?"

"Bella," said Jared shrugged. "Who else?"

"Leave it to Jacob to find a way around," murmured Emily. I was surprised to see her look at Bella with an almost hostility. "So, you're the vampire girl?"

I moved to sit on Embry's lap, taking a bite of my muffin.

Bella stiffened. "Yes. Are you the wolf girl?"

"I guess I am," she replied, smiling.

"Wait, I'm a wolf-girl, too," I whined.

"Damn right," said Embry. I grinned and kissed him again, laughing.

"Where's Sam?" asked Emily, turning to Jared.

"Bella, er, surprised Paul this morning."

Emily rolled her eyes as I laughed slightly. "Ah, Paul. Do you think they'll be long? I was just about to start the eggs."

"Don't worry," said Embry. "If they're late, we won't let anything go to waste."

I giggled alongside Emily. "You know, Embry, someday, when we're all grown up and living together, It's gonna cost me a lot to feed you."

Embry rolled his eyes and plucked another muffin off the table.

"Bella, are you hungry?" I asked, turning to look at her for the first time. "There's a muffin if you want it."

"Thanks," she said.

It was quiet for a few moments while Jared and Embry dove into the food. As I watched, the food source quickly dwindled.

I playfully slapped Embry on the arm. "Save some for your brothers."

"Yeah," said Jared, taking another muffin and stuffing his face. "You pig."

I reached over and smacked the back of his head, causing more laughter.

I heard a small intake of breath from behind me as I pushed the long sleeve of my shirt back. Bella's eyes were wide, flickering from Emily's injured arm to mine.

Everyone had already seen my scars, so it wasn't exactly news. Charlie had been disappointed they weren't healed all the way, Bella just looked at me with pity. Most everyone did, except my wolf family. It was understood that they were a part of me, as Emily's were to her.

I guess it was just occurring to Bella how I got my scars.

I held up a hand to silence her. "Stop."

She looked like she wanted to say more, but Sam entered.

"Emily," he said in a loving voice. He walked over and kissed her scars quickly before kissing her.

"Ew, gross!" I said, shielding my eyes.

Embry groaned "Get a room!"

"I'm eating!" exclaimed Jared, holding up the last bite of muffin.

"Then shut up and eat," said Sam, kissing Emily again.

Bella seemed a bit out of place. She was looking around as if amazed that we were all like a family. She had been part of a family like this once before, too, and it seriously hurt that it was taken away.

When Jacob and Paul walked in, Bella visibly relaxed. Jacob went to stand next to her by the counter and she appeared to almost lean into him.

"Who got injured?" I asked motherly.

Paul turned his forearm to display a thin pink line.

"Oh man!" Jared wailed.

"Fifteen dollars," crowed Embry.

I helped Embry showboat-ily count his money. Kim joined us a few minutes later, pulling a chair up next to Jared and sitting under his long arm. Everyone was happy and coupled up, other than Paul. I was smiling and grinning at my now complete family.

"Hey, guys," said Sam, stopping our side conversations. "Jacob has information for us."

Jacob quickly explained the story with Victoria and Laurent. When Jacob mentioned that Victoria could come after Bella at any time, Embry moved his arms to circle around me tightly, pulling me close. When Jacob was finished with his story, everyone was staring at Bella for a long moment.

"Excellent," said Jared finally. "We've got bait."

Jacob grabbed a can opener and chucked it at his face; Kim pulled away from Jared, staring at him like he was insane.

She didn't notice the can opener flying for the back of her head, but Jared did. In quick motions, he had moved her to lean behind him as he reached forward and caught the can opener. Bella was looking almost amazed, but I wasn't surprised.

"Bella is _not_ bait," said Jacob fiercely. I nodded, glaring.

"You know what I mean," said Jared.

"So we'll be changing our patterns," continued Sam, ignoring them. "We'll try leaving a few holes and see if she falls for it. We'll have to split up, and I don't like that. But if she's really after Bella she probably won't try to take advantage of our divided numbers."

"Quil's got to be close to joining us," said Embry softly. "Then we'll be able to split up evenly."

Everyone was silent for a moment. No one wanted Quil to phase. We'd all like it very much if he never had to be pulled into this life of secrecy and legends. It was impossible, though.

"Well, we won't count on that," Sam said in a low voice. "Paul, Jared, and Embry will take the outer perimeter, and Jacob and I will take the inner. We'll collapse in when we've got her trapped."

I grit my teeth, hating the idea of the guys splitting up like they were. I notice Emily wasn't too happy either.

"Jacob thinks it would be best if you spent as much time as possible here in La Push. She won't know where to find you so easily, just in case."

"What about Charlie?" asked Bella.

"March Madness is still going," Jacob said. "I think Billy and Harry can manage to keep Charlie down here when he's not at work."

"Wait," said Dam, holding up a hand. "That's what Jacob thinks is best, but you need to decide for yourself. You should weigh the risks of both options very seriously. You saw this morning how easily things can get dangerous here, how quickly they get out of hand. If you choose to stay with us, I can't make any guarantees about your safety."

His eyes flickered from my arm to Emily's.

"I won't hurt her," said Jacob softly.

"If there was somewhere else you felt safe . . ."

Bella bit her lip, contemplating the decision deeply. Then, she took a deep breath and spoke. "I don't want to lead Victoria anywhere else."

I nodded, leaning farther into Embry. I nestled with my head in the crook of his shoulder, my back pressed against his chest.

"That's true," said Sam. "It's better to have her here, where we can end this."

Bella seemed to mull a few things over before finally turning to look at Jacob. "You'll be careful, right?"

There was laughter from the guys, but I locked eyes with Emily and knew she was feeling the same way as me.

"Food's ready," she announced.

The serious talk was soon dropped, replaced by the sound of chewing mouths.

* * *

><p>Later, I ended up walking beside Bella on the beach.<p>

"You seem so at home, there, B," she said.

I raised an eyebrow. "Is that a bad thing?"

"No," she said. "It just seems like you're freer, happier."

I laughed and shook my head. "That's just me acting like I do with my family. That pack of crazy wolves is my family."

Bella laughed and threw her arm around me. "I can see that."

**Good night all! I hope you enjoyed this and I'd love to hear what you think! :)**


	14. Promises

**Hello! This is just a fluffy little scene that I love and really wanted to write and share. It's not necessarily important to the story, but I love the completely unrealistic fluffy stuff, so I'm sure I'm not the only one.**

**Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing that you recognize from the Twilight Saga, which belongs to Stephenie Meyer.**

On Tuesday night, Bella, Charlie, and I were over at Billy's, enjoying some wonderful food, when Emily, Embry, and Sam joined us. Emily brought a cake that made Charlie instantly love her.

Charlie had never met Embry before, something I had been avoiding. I hurried forward and took his hand, leading him over to Charlie.

"Dad, this is Embry Call," I said. "My boyfriend."

Boyfriend seemed like such a weak word. Embry was my soul mate, my future husband, 'boyfriend' didn't even cover it.

"Hello, sir," said Embry. He was calm as he held out his hand and Charlie shook it. "It's good to meet you."

"And you, Embry," replied Charlie. "You'll have to excuse me for being wary of my daughters' boyfriends: the last one didn't exactly work out well."

His eyes flickered to Bella, who was laughing next to Jacob.

"I completely understand," replied Embry. "But you don't need to worry. I'll _never_ hurt Bianca the way that Bella was hurt."

He said it with such conviction that Charlie seemed taken aback for a moment. Then he attempted to fix his features into a scary-father look.

"Good."

The conversation was ended when Emily asked if Charlie wanted cake.

After Charlie walked away, I headed outside with Embry. Jacob and Bella followed. Embry and I went for a leisurely walk in the rainless sky, while they headed back to the garage.

We were silent for awhile, our interlocked hands swinging between us. It was companionable silence, no speaking necessary. We were just enjoying each other's company.

"You know," I said into the silence, "I think he might just like you."

Embry smiled. "I'm not so sure. He seemed to hate me."

"Well, duh," I said, rolling my eyes. "No girl's father is going to love her boyfriend. It's principal."

"Oh?"

"Mm-hm," I said matter-of-factly. "But, Charlie's just going to get used to it, especially since we're going to be together for a long time."

"We are?" he asked.

I pretended to be offended and dropped his hand. He chuckled and reached out, pulling me close to him as he turned to face me.

"Of course we are," he said. "And I have something for you. Just to prove it."

He let go of me to reach into his pocket. He pulled out an intricately braided bracelet. He motioned for me to put my hand up and I obliged as his long, thin fingers tied the bracelet to my wrist.

"What's this?" I asked, touching the beautiful bracelet and studying it.

"This," he said, taking my hands, "is a Quileute version of a promise ring. It's a promise to love you forever, no matter what the future brings."

I felt a smile creep across my face. "Embry, it's beautiful."

He smiled and leaned down to kiss me softly. I lost myself in the kiss, feeling my feet lift off the ground and my fingers grasp his short hair. He was soft and warm, everywhere, and I knew that I'd never be content anywhere but in his arms.

**Well, review on the fluff. The drama of New Moon begins in either the next chapter, or after that, not sure. **


	15. Deaths

**Here's another one. This is kinda starting with the main problem-thing going on. :) Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: _So_ not mine.**

"No," I groaned. "Don't get up."

Embry laughed and continued over to stand, pulling his shirt over his head. "I've got to go. I'm patrolling today."

It was early in the morning, about eight. I had been pleasantly surprised earlier when I came back from my shower and he was sprawled across my bed. I rarely saw him anymore because of his patrols, so I every spare moment counted. It varied on what we did, from heated kissing to just talking. Either way, I was with him.

This morning, we had been enjoying a wonderful makeout session - in which his shirt was not allowed - when he had glanced at the time and sighed deeply, saying that he had to go.

"But you just got here!" I moved to the edge of the bed and perched on my knees before him. "Don't go."

Embry turned and leaned down to kiss me. It was fierce and strong, and made my head spin and I never wanted it to end. But it did and he pulled away again, although breathing a lot heavier.

"I'm sorry," he said.

I sighed. "It's fine. I was just gonna hang out here today."

"It's not safe, Bianca," he said.

I rolled my eyes. "It's safe enough, Embry. Victoria isn't after me. She's after Bella, and knows that Bella's always in La Push. I'll be fine."

Embry looked like he wanted to argue, but I stood on the bed to make myself slightly taller and kissed him.

"Now, go," I said, pulling away. "I'm just going to be painting. I need some therapy right now."

He sighed and went to the window. "Fine."

"Goobye," I said, kissing him. "I love you."

"I love you, too," he said.

After he left, I quickly set up some protection before splatter painting across a larger canvas. My room was larger than Bella's and I had converted it into more of an art studio over the last couple months, empty canvases stacked near the door, my paint a few feet away - on plastic that covered some of the floor and one of the walls. My bed and desk were shoved into the corner, near the closet, and my desk was scattered with pencils and paint. Completed paintings were leaning inside the closet, around my clothes.

I was feeling tired and a bit drained from the Victoria worrying these days, so I used a lot of purples and blues, cool colors mainly. But at the same time, I was content with Embry, so I put a single slash of yellow paint over the dark colors.

It was soothing, therapeutic, really. I'd missed it.

I was so engrossed in my painting that I didn't even hear the soft pur of the engine. I didn't even realize anyone was there until I heard a voice call my name.

"Bianca?" called a beautiful, familiar voice.

I knew that she was only calling my name to announce her presence. She knew I was there. I felt a small brush of wind and turned to see someone in my doorway.

Alice.

Her eyes were black, as was her hair. She was just as tiny as she had been, dressed fashionably. She was pale, the shadows were under her eyes. She looked so absolutely beautiful and pristine that I felt a tug in my heart, remembering the family that Bella had had, and that I had been included in.

"Alice," I said softly, smiling.

"Bianca," she replied. I hurried forward and hugged her tightly.

When I pulled away, she held me at arms' length. "Look at you. You're so . . . different."

I returned her small smile. "Different how?"

"Different like more comfortable, as if you've grown into yourself. You seem really happy, B," she said. Her smile faded a bit. "But it doesn't make sense. Why one Earth would you be happy at a time like this?"

"A time like what?" I asked.

"I saw Bella jump off a cliff!" she exclaimed. "She never came out of the water!"

My stomach and smile both dropped. "What?"

Just then, I heard the roar of Bella's truck, coming down the road. "That's her, Alice, I'm sure it's nothing."

Alice disappeared, obviously going down to the living room. I hastily pulled off my paint-covered smock and rushed down the stairs.

"What are they saying?" I asked.

"They're just talking. . . ."

I heard the sound of the door opening and then Jacob's voice.

"OH! Holy _crap_!"

The door slammed shut and the engine revved before faltering. A few moments later, The truck backed out of the driveway.

"Who was with her?" asked Alice.

"That was Jacob Black," I said. "He's basically my brother. He's head over heels for Bella, and I think he could fix her. He _has_ fixed her, really."

"Fixed her?" she asked.

"Yeah. She was such a mess after Edward left. A complete zombie. Nothing mattered anymore," I said, shuddering. "She used to have awful dreams and wake up screaming. They've mostly faded now, but every time I heard them, I always went in there with her. He really messed her up."

"I told him this would happen," she said.

The sound of the truck was heard before it cut off and the door slammed. There was a few moments of waiting for Bella to reach the door before it was finally pushed open.

Bella froze in the doorway. She looked at Alice with wide eyes, shocked and amazed, for a breif moment before she leaped forward and hugged her fiercely.

"Alice, oh, Alice!" she cried.

I smiled slightly.

I heard the phone ring and headed to the kitchen while Alice and Bella were talking.

"Hello?" I asked.

"Bianca," said Emily's voice. It sounded choked with tears. "Harry's dead."

"No," I gasped tearfully. "He can't be."

Harry Clearwater had been like a father to us all. Billy and Old Quil were always so serious, while Harry was always joking, being playful. He had been especially kind to Emily, Kim, and I, talking to us about the true nature of imprints and such; making us laugh. He had been a rock, something steady in this mess of supernatural.

"He died of a heart attack," she sobbed.

"Where is everyone? Where's Embry?" I asked quickly.

"We're all here at home," she said.

"Okay."

I rushed out the door with barely an explanation to Alice. As I left I heard Bella say, "She's going to be with her family. One of them just died."

I jumped into my car and was soon gunning it down the street. I was in La Push in ten minutes, and soon pulling up to Emily's house.

Everyone was there. Sam, standing with Emily pressed against his chest, her face streaked with tears. Kim and Jared were both on the floor, wrapped in each others' arms, but silent and stoic, disbelieving. Paul and Jacob were on the couch, Paul's head in his hands and Jacob looking a bit lost. I looked at Embry, sitting in the soft chair.

His beautiful brown eyes were red and he was looking up at me, silently breaking down inside.

I felt my tears double. I rushed forward and wrapped my arms around him, curling into his lap. He held me as I cried. I felt a sense of family as I sat with my newfound brothers and sisters, and my wolf.

* * *

><p>I called Charlie and he gave me permission to stay the night at La Push. I didn't tell him that I was staying with Embry: he didn't necessarily need to know that.<p>

I didn't have any clothes, so Embry loaned me a very big T-shirt and some shorts. His Mom was in Seattle for a few days, so we had the house to ourselves.

Now, I know what you're thinking. _Two teenagers in a serious relationship with the house to themselves? Three guesses what they're doing tonight!_

It wasn't like that at all. Embry spread across his bed and took my hand, pulling me down next to him. I stretched out beside him, my feet barely reaching his knees. We faced each other, our noses almost touching.

"Are you okay?" I asked him.

He laughed softly, a wistful smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

"What?" I gazed up into his beautiful brown eyes.

"It's just," he murmured, "I'm supposed to be the one that's here for you. Gravity isn't what hold me here; you are. Everything I do, everything about me, is for you. And yet . . . sometimes . . . I feel like you're the one taking care of _me_. I feel like I'm the lucky one, the one imprinted on."

I smiled and leaned up to kiss him softly. "You are the lucky one. I mean, you ended up with this glorious specimen of girl! C'mon, who wouldn't be happy to have someone so very perfect as me?"

He chuckled. "I don't know how I ended up with someone so perfect, but I don't know what I'd do without you."

He kissed my forehead. I rolled over and Embry wrapped his arms around me, his chest flat against my back. My head fit just below his chin and his body heat warmed me wonderfully.

"Goodnight, Embry."

"G'night. Oh, and Bianca?"

"Yeah?"

"You smell like . . . vamp."

I laughed and snuggled closer, covering the bleach stench with Embry's wolfy scent. "Better?"

"Much," he replied. His arms tightened around me and the steady beat of his heart lulled me to sleep.

**God, I think I'm going overboard in fluff stuff. Ah well, I like to read these cute moments, so I wrote them.**

**Please, please, please review. I like to get a review or two before I post another chapter because it's often from these reviews that I get great plot ideas. Review!**


	16. Worries

**I am finally, _finally, FINALLY_, posting this chapter. I always knew this was going to happen, but the way it was going to caused me some major writer's block. I have seriously been trying to figure out how to write this for months and I'm still not completely happy with it, but it's the best I could do. I hope everyone's okay with it and I'm sorry if anyone isn't.**

Harry Clearwater was dead and the day of his funeral had arrived.

I couldn't do it. I couldn't possibly go to a funeral where everyone I loved would be crying.

When my tears had dried, I opened the door and ran smack into Embry's bare chest. He caught and steadied me.

"Are you all right?" he asked.

Embry had been bothering me ever since Harry died. I had tried to ask him how he was, tried to see how he was feeling. He insisted everytime that he was fine, and only cared about me. It was making me realize just how much his world 'revolved' around me and I hated it. It was like he didn't care about himself, and I needed him to care about himself as well.

"Yes. I'm fine. But I can't go to the funeral today. I'll never be able to handle everyone, Embry. I'm trying to stay strong about this, but seeing everyone break down is not an option for me."

Embry sighed and pulled me in. I hesitated for a moment before returning the embrace.

"You don't have to do anything you don't want to," he said. "I won't go either. I'll stay and comfort you."

"No, Embry," I said. "Go to the funeral."

"You need me," he replied simply. "You come before everything else."

See what I mean?

I sighed and broke his hold. I turned and walked down the hallway, away from him.

"What?" he asked with concern. "What is it?"

"It's nothing, Embry," I said. I started getting my things together.

"No it's not," he said. He reached forward and placed his hands on either side of my face. "Bianca, what's bothering you?"

"Nothing."

He didn't let go though. He just raised his eyebrows and continued to stare at me.

"This," I said, gesturing to nothing. "This bothers me."

"What, my hands on your face?" he asked. "I'm sorry."

He stepped away, dropping his hands.

"That!" I exclaimed. "That right there!"

"I'm confused," he said.

"You are always so worried about me," I said. "Harry died and all you're worried about is how _I'm _feeling and how _I'm_ coping."

"Well, you're always the first thing on my mind," he said. "I'm just trying to make sure you're okay."

"Embry, I appreciate that and I love you for it," I said, "but there are other, more important things to be concerned about in your life."

Embry looked at me as if I were crazy. As if the idea of something being more important than me was foreign.

I sighed and walked past him. "Just forget it."

I dropped my bag next to the door and bent to slip my shoes on. Embry followed me.

"No, don't forget it," he said. He grasped my shoulders and pulled me up, forcing me to stand and face him.

"Bianca, If something were to happen and I lost you, I'd never be able to live. I only worry so much because I couldn't stand it if I _did_ lose you. I'm just trying to make sure you are all right, and to reassure myself. I do it because I love you."

I sighed. His hands slid to my waist and lifted me up so I could kiss him.

When he set me back down, I circled my arms around his waist, smiling. "I love you, too."

We stood like that for a few moments before I stepped away to get my bag.

"You know," Embry said, smiling to himself, "I don't think you understand how strong this imprint is. It makes everything I feel a million times stronger and almost _forces_ me to make sure you're safe. I couldn't stop worrying about you if I tried."

I froze.

_Forces me. . . . Couldn't stop if I tried_. Embry's words rang in my ears as a new thought occured to me.

Embry's love for me was a lie. The imprint forced him to have feelings for me, to love me. He had to love me, he had no choice. Hell, if he'd had the choice it probably wouldn't have even been me. I'd never questioned it before, but now I couldn't ignore it. We were together because of the imprint. His feelings weren't real. Everything that was between us, everything he'd ever felt for me, was fake.

Oh my God.

I straightened up to face him. He looked slightly alarmed and could more than likely sense my tension.

"Embry," I said. "Do you remember when we first met?"

He nodded. "It was in Jake's garage."

"What was your first impression of me? Don't lie. I can always tell when you're lying," I said.

Embry shrugged. "I don't know. You seemed nice."

"If I had asked you out right then and there, what would you have said? Be honest."

Embry hesitated before he answered, which was a dead giveaway he was lying. "Yes."

"Liar," I said as I began to freak out. I raised my hands to push my hair from my face. "Oh my God. Oh my God. I can't believe I never realized this before."

"What?" asked Embry, alarmed. "What's wrong?"

"It's all a lie," I said. "You don't love me. The imprint makes you feel everything. You don't have a choice in the matter."

His eyes widened. He reached forward to reassure me. "No, Bianca. I know what I feel. This -"

I jerked away, out of reach. "Don't touch me."

His hands dropped and he took a step backwards. "Bianca, I love you. It's not the imprint, it's me."

"I need some space, Embry," I said. It was like everything that had been wonderful in my life over the past few weeks was crumbling away. "Don't follow me."

"No, Bianca -"

I pulled my bag over my shoulder, noticing as I did that he was shaking violently.

"Bianca, don't go! Please don't leave. I can convince you. It's not the imprint, it's me. _I_ love you. I can't live without you," he said frantically.

"Embry, calm down, all right? I'm not breaking up with you. I just need some time to myself. I need to work out how I feel about this," I said.

His shaking slowed and he seemed to calm down slightly. "Okay."

"Go to the funeral, Embry. Don't stay home worrying."

"Okay."

**Please review. I love hearing feedback, and it's nice to know if or when someone likes the story. :)**


	17. Arguments

**I've got another chapter for everyone. I'm kind of on a roll, so I'm hoping to have this story finished relatively soon. With that said, I make no definite promises. I'm sort of nervous how you're all going to react to this, so I'll try to post another chapter up and not leave you all hanging. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Nothing you recognize from the Twilight Saga is mine. Same goes for last chapter, where I forgot this.**

When I got home, Carlisle's car was still outside, which meant Alice was still there. Sure enough, when I walked in, Bella and Alice were in the bathroom. Alice leaned against the doorframe while Bella scrubbed the tub.

"Hey," I said.

"Hey," replied Bella. "How was your two nights with Embry?"

I rolled my eyes. "Calm down, Bells. We didn't do anything. I spent yesterday with Emily and Kim. Sam had the whole pack out, running patrols. By the time Embry got back, I was already sleeping."

Bella rolled her eyes.

"Although, I did speak to Jake," I said, remembering Jacob's face. He had confessed to me, with a face and voice that expressed nothing but pain, that she had chosen the bloodsuckers over him and would always choose the bloodsuckers over him.

She froze. She knew I was pissed. She hurt Jacob; of course I was pissed.

"I cannot believe you, Bella," I said.

Bella stood up from the tub and faced me defiantly. "What? What did I do?"

"You chose vampires over him," I replied. I had nothing against vegeterian vampires, and I wasn't trying to offend Alice. This argument was between Bella and I, something Alice clearly understood when she stepped from the doorway and into the hallway.

"He overreacted. I knew that it was safe. He didn't have to freak out like he did and leave," Bella said angrily.

"Of course he'd freak out! He couldn't protect you if it was a Cullen. You know, there's this thing called _the treaty!"_

"That treaty is pointless!" Bella exclaimed. "Alice's family is harmless!"

She was trying to avoid saying his name, which made what I said next doubly awful.

"Harmless?" I exclaimed. "What about _Edward_? Was he so harmless? Look what he did to you!"

Bella flinched and suddenly all my anger was gone. I had been there first hand to watch her suffer through the terrible pain Edward had caused, and here I was, using it against her.

"Oh my God," I said. "Bella, I'm so sorry."

I stepped forward and pulled her into a tight hug. I could feel tears in my eyes as she hugged me back. And then, suddenly, it wasn't me comforting Bella, it was her comforting me.

"Bianca? B, it's okay," she said. "I'm not mad at you."

I pulled away. "That's not it. . . . I kind of fought with Embry today."

And so I explained it all to her and Alice, who was now in the doorway. I explained how I had been aggravated because he only worried about me and didn't care for his own well-being. How he had made me feel better for all of two seconds before his next comment sent me into a full on freak out.

"It makes me feel that if he had never imprinted on me, we'd never be together. He'd have never felt this way about me at all. Our entire relationship is a lie," I said.

As Bella opened her mouth to reply, the doorbell rang.

"Who is that?" asked Bella.

"I don't know," said Alice. "I can't see. . . "

"What?" I asked, stunned that Alice couldn't see the visitor.

"I can't see them," she answered. "Which means it is more than likely one of your wolf friends."

"Oh no," I murmured. "Okay, if it's Embry, send him away. I don't want to see him right now. If it's Jacob . . . well, that's your problem."

I turned and hurried into my room. I shut my blinds, not allowing Embry entrance inside. Usually, he'd jump through my window.

I turned to my art area, where my paint area was cleaner than usual. The paint was color coordinated and standing neatly on the corner of the floor. My brushes were freshly washed and looked almost brand new. Bella had obviously been in here because another glance around the room revealed that all of my dirty clothes were gone.

I heard the sound of the door open and I stood in my doorway, listening to hear who it was.

There were footsteps and then Bella's voice echoed up the stairs. "He's not here. It's just Jacob. Paul and Jared are in the car."

I relaxed and made my way down to the living room.

"Thanks, Bells," I said. She just nodded.

Jacob stood near the door. His long arms were quivering as he glanced around the room. His eyes met mine and I glared.

"Quick shaking, you crazy. The last thing anyone needs right now is an exploding wolf. I _definitely_ don't want another one of those," I said. My right hand almost subconciously touched my left arm, which was covered - thankfully - by my jacket.

Jacob rolled his eyes. "Relax. I'm perfectly calm."

I raised my eyebrows sarcastically. "Really?"

"Really."

I shrugged and turned around to go upstairs.

"Oh, and I think you're being stupid," Jake called from behind me.

"Oh, and I don't care," I replied mockingly. I turned to face him. "It's none of your business, Jake."

"Well, I know all about it, B," he replied. "And you're being stupid."

I walked over, grabbed a pillow from the couch, and hurled it at him. He expertly dodged it and the pillow slapped the door. Jacob stood up and pretended to laugh at me. I rolled my eyes.

I pointed toward the kitchen, where Bella had retreated, and silently mouthed, _Go._

Jacob shook his head. I rolled my eyes and pointed. He shook his head again. I wagged my finger at him, my other hand on my hip, and silently threatened him. He held up both hands in defeat. Then he walked past me and into the kitchen.

I smiled, my work officially done, and headed upstairs to my room.

* * *

><p>I was halfway through a sketch of the tree outside my window when Alice suddenly appeared in my room. She hurried over to my closet, speaking frantically as she put my clothes into a bag.<p>

"Edward's in trouble. He thinks Bella is dead, so he's going to Italy to die. Bella and I are going to save him. You're not included, but I can see that when Bella tells you no, you threaten to tell Charlie everything. I'm going to skip all of that and let you come, okay? Get your toothbrush and your wallet."

I nodded and jumped up, rushing to get the things she demanded. I encountered Bella in the bathroom. She saw my passport in my hand and shook her head.

"No."

"Alice said I win this fight. Every time. Let's just save everyone some time, shall we?" I retorted.

I sprinted down the stairs after her, slipping my feet into more comfortable shoes.

I heard Bella's yell from downstairs. "Argue when we get back, let's go!"

I jumped up, quickly grabbed all of my savings of six hundred dollars - a side effect of never spending any money - and hurried down the stairs.

"Bye, Jake," I heard Bella say. "Sorry."

I made it to the door just as she turned and sprinted away.

Jacob looked as if he were about to cry. I jumped, throwing my arms around his neck and hugging him tightly.

"I love you, Jake. I'm sorry for all the pain she's caused you," I said. "Be back soon."

I pulled away then, turning to look up into his eyes. "Tell him I'm sorry."

Jacob nodded before turning and running to the woods. Halfway there, he exploded.

I got to the car a split second after Bella, sliding into the back seat smoothly and shutting the door behind me. In what seemed like seconds, Alice had turned us around and got us onto the road.

* * *

><p>Bella suddenly held her hand back, a small phone clasped in her fingers. "Get an alibi. I don't need one."<p>

I took the phone and thought of who to call. I roamed through a few names before it hit me, and I wondered how I could've missed her.

I dialed the number. The phone rang twice.

"Hello?" asked Renee.

"Mommy?" I asked. "It's Bianca."

"Bianca!" she exclaimed. "Hi, honey. How are you?"

"I'm fine, Mom," I said. "Listen, I need you to do me a favor."

"Okay," she said.

"I just had a fight with my boyfriend and I need to get away from everyone for a few days, although Bella's already gone. Don't worry, I'm just going to visit a friend across town, but can you be my alibi? Can you call Dad and tell him I'm down in Jacksonville with you?"

I heard Mom sigh. "Why is this necessary, Bianca? Just tell him you're with a friend across town."

"He knows this friend, though, Mom. He'll come bother me and make me come home," I whined. I tapped into my teenage moody-ness, making it sound more convincing. It sounded as if I thought it perfectly reasonable, which more than likely convinced her.

"Fine," she said. "But I want you to take a picture with your cellphone of you and this friend and send it to me for proof, okay?"

"Okay, Mommy," I said. "I love you. Thank you so much."

"You're welcome, sweetie," she replied. "Keep me updated and tell me when you want to come home so I can tell Charlie."

"Okay," I replied. "Bye."

"Bye."

I tossed the phone into Bella's seat. She scoffed jealously. "That would've never worked for me."

"She loves me," I replied simply.

**By all means, tell me what you thought! I know it's rushed, but this scene was very fast.**


	18. Festivals

**Another one for ya! I really enjoyed writing this chapter and there are parts that I love. Honestly, though, I think I'm more excited for the next chapter! ;)**

**Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Nothing you recognize from the Twilight Saga belongs to me.**

Alice and Bella discussed Edward's options on his suicide, and then Alice explained the Volturi. I leaned across Bella to hear her speak. Then, Alice claimed she needed to concentrate and 'fell asleep.'

I slipped on my headphones and watched the movie. I have no idea what the movie was called, but it was a romance and wasn't very good. Bella pretended to watch it, but I knew that she was thinking of Edward and was worrying for him. I reached over and clasped her hand, silently letting her know that it was okay, that I was there. She squeezed my hand and looked at me appreciatively.

We had to run for the connection. Then, Alice fell right back into her 'sleep.' I asked the attendent for a pillow.

"We don't need _two_ sleep-deprived humans," I said to Bella.

She nodded and turned back to her worrying. . . .

And then, suddenly, Bella was shaking my shoulder. "We're landing."

I stretched and buckled my seat belt. Bella turned to Alice.

"How far is it from Florence to Volterra?"

"That depends on how fast you drive. . . . Bella?"

"Yes?"

"How strongly are you opposed to grand theft auto?"

And that was how I found myself in the backseat of a Porsche 911 Turbo. Alice weaved through the airport traffic so fast it was a blur. If it had been anyone but Alice - or Edward, maybe - I would've been scared for my life.

"Sheesh, Alice," Bella complained. "Could you pick a _more_ conspicuous car to steal?"

"_I_ love it!" I exclaimed. The car was black leather everywhere and tinted against the sun.

"The important question is if I could've stolen a faster car," she corrected, "and I don't think so. I got lucky."

"I'm sure that will be very comforting at the roadblock," Bella said sarcastically.

Alice trilled - there's no other word for it - her tinkling laugh. "Trust me, Bella. If anyone sets up a roadblock, it will be _behind_ us." She hit the gas and we sped forward.

I stared out the window, enjoying the view. Despit how nervous I was for Edward and for Bella and for Alice and everything really, I figured I might as well enjoy Italy. It was beautiful, by the way.

"Do you see anything more?" Bella asked Alice..

"There's something going on," Alice murmured. "Some kind of festival. The streets are full of people and red flags. What's the date today?"

"The nineteenth," I replied.

"Well, that's ironic. It's Saint Marcus Day," she said. Then, her eyes widened for a brief moment, as if something had just occured to her. "Quick, Bianca, there's red clothes in your bag. Put them on."

"What?" I asked.

"Put them on!"

I obeyed and found a red shirt and sweatshirt that my mom had bought for me when Bella had been hospitalized in Phoenix. She had demanded bonding time and taken me shopping, buying clothes I would never use.

"What the hell?" I asked, holding it up.

"I found them in your closet," Alice replied.

"They probably don't even fit me."

"Just put the damn clothes on!"

I quickly stripped in the backseat and changed.

It took me a while to change, due to the utter lack of space, and by the time I was finished Alice had already tipped the uniformed man and was crawling through the streets.

"Okay, Bianca, when I stop the car, you're going to make sure Bella doesn't trip when she's running. But do not approach Edward. When you see her get to him, join the festival," she said. "Take my bag, it has the passports and all the money. If we don't come back by the end of tonight, you leave Volterra. I may not get Bella home today, but _you_ will get home."

"No! I am not leaving you! I'll help Bella all the way to Edward!"

"B, if we go to the Volturi, Bella still has a chance to make it out. You have no chance. Go, and we'll try to make it out, I promise," she said.

I could feel a few tears in my vision. I sighed. "All right."

I reached forward and grabbed Bella's hand. "I love you."

"I love you, too," replied Bella. "Forever -"

"- and always," I replied, finishing it.

"Alice, I love you, too," I said.

She smiled back at me.

* * *

><p>Alice stopped the car.<p>

"There - we're at the southern end of the square. Run straight across, to the right of the clock tower. I'll find a way around-"

She broke off and hissed. "They're _everywhere_!"

Bella and I both paused, our doors open.

"Forget about them. You have two minutes. Go!" she shouted, climbing out her side as she spoke.

I jumped out, Bella in front of me and ran on her heels as she battled through the crowd.

It was awful, the way everyone was so pressed together. There was barely any room to breathe. There were a few scary moments when it looked like Bella was about to fall, but I was there each time, pushing her back up. Time ticked on and we knew that it would be too late.

Then, there was a break in the crowd. I grabbed Bella's arm before she banged into the fountain. She paused, considering running through.

I threw my arms around her neck. "GO!"

I stepped back as she threw her leg over the fountain and ran. The water sprayed around her and people turned to glare. When she hit the other side, they moved for her, trying to avoid her sopping clothes.

When they moved back around her, I turned and slipped into the crowd.

* * *

><p>The wait was agonizing. I stood with the rest of the crowd, numb to everything that happened around me. I just followed the crowd as it moved, as it cheered. I did what everyone else did.<p>

Everywhere I looked, it seemed, there were happy couples. A girl was swept into the arms of a boy. A mother and father kissing while their children looked disgusted. There was even an elderly couple, holding hands and standing at the edge of the square.

And then, like a dull throb in my chest, I ached for Embry. I missed him terribly. The wind was chilling and I wished for his constant heat. I wished for his presence. I missed his laughter, I missed him making me laugh. I missed the way he could make me feel with just one lovey gaze.

I realized how absolutely stupid I had been.

I had been so worried that his feelings were a lie, that I wasn't appreciative. Here was this amazing guy, my soulmate, that loved and cared for me. He would do anything for me, _be_ anything for me. If that wasn't proof enough that he loved me, than nothing was. It didn't matter if the imprint caused them. What mattered was that he loved me and always would.

I wanted to tell him, I wanted to talk to him, but I couldn't. The only thing that kept me going was knowing that I would see him again.

At the same time, I worried for Bella, for Edward, for Alice. I had heard nothing from any of them, so I didn't know if they were safe or not. They could've been dead, and I'd have had no idea. I kept remembering Bella's face as she ran across the square. It was scared and terrified, yes, but at the same time it was slightly excited. I could sense it, how happy she was that he was so near, how happy she was that she was going to see him.

When night fell, everyone changed into cloaks. A kind girl gave me hers and I blended in with the crowd, searching faces everywhere to find familiar ones.

I was on some side street, not sure where I was, when I felt a light tap on my shoulder. I turned around and there was Alice, mine and Bella's bags thrown over her shoulder.

"Alice!" I exclaimed. "You're okay!"

She smiled. "I am, and so are Bella and Edward. They're taking a while because Bella's exhausted. I've got the car waiting for us."

"Okay," I said. I followed her down the street and along a few more before I saw the gate. I tossed Alice's bag into the trunk of the car she had waiting and slid into the passenger seat beside her.

We waited a few silent minutes before Alice said, "There they are."

Edward and Bella got into the backseat, and it was obvious Bella didn't want to sleep. I reached back and grasped her free hand.

"I'm glad you're safe," I said as she fought exhaustion. "You can't imagine the awful day I had not knowing if any of you were."

I moved my gaze to connect with Edward's and grinned. "You, too."

Edward smiled.

**There we go. I think there's only going to be one or two more chapters.**

**Review! :)**


	19. Reunions

**Well, this is it. This is the last chapter of the story.**

**I can't believe I've finally finished it! Unless you're a writer and you've done this yourself, you can't imagine how amazing this feels right now.**

**I want to thank everyone that reviewed. Everything you said to me I took to heart and it helped give me motivation to finish this story. In fact, a few of the reviews gave me ideas and cured some writer's block. You're all amazing people and you're the reason I write.**

**This was the first fanfic I've ever written and I'm so happy it went well. I will definitely be writing more (maybe even writing Bianca's experience through the last two books?) and I hope you'll be there to read it.**

**Now, enough with my unnecessary talk. Please, Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing from the Twilight Saga.**

When we got to the airport in Florence, Bella and I quickly cleaned up a bit. I braided her hair back for her, knowing she'd be asleep soon and pulled mine into a bun. After brushing our teeth and changing into more comfortable clothes, we headed back out to Alice and Edward.

Edward had changed into some clothes Alice had bought.

After the very short trip from Florence to Rome, we boarded the plane to Atlanta. I sat next to the window, Bella next to me and then Edward after her. Alice sat in the row behind us.

I stared out the window, not sleeping. I was jittery, knowing that I'd see Embry soon.

Just a few more hours . . . just a few more hours.

We reached Atlanta and boarded for Seattle. I fell asleep on that ride, letting sleep overtake me. It seemed like only a few minutes later that Alice was shaking me awake and helping me off the plane.

When we got off, I was on my own as Alice greeted Jasper. Bella had stayed awake and was practically sleeping in Edward's arms. I trudged beside them as they walked through the airport.

We saw Carlisle and Esme near the metal detector line. Esme hugged me tightly. "Thank you, too, for going to save him."

"I didn't even help!" I complained groggily as I hugged Carlisle. "They wouldn't let me!"

Esme and Carlisle laughed. Esme and Edward helped Bella walk as we left the airport. When we got to the car, I was surprised to see Rosalie and Emmett leaning against it.

"Hey!" I exclaimed. I had been pretty close to the two of them before they left. I rushed forward and hugged Emmett first. "It's good to see you. Despite the circumstances."

Emmett chuckled. I moved on to Rosalie and hugged her tightly.

"It's okay, Rose." I pulled back and held her at arm's length. "No one's mad at you . . . except, maybe Edward, but nobody likes him."

The corner of her mouth twitched up.

* * *

><p>I asked Rose to borrow her phone, noticing as I did that it was ten-thirty in the morning.<p>

I dialed the number and waited as it rang.

"Hello?" asked Jacob.

"Jake," I said, relaxing.

"B?" he asked. "Is that you?"

"Yes, it's me," I replied.

"Didn't the little bloodsucker say that you were all going to die?"

I rolled my eyes, though he couldn't see that. "No. Quit being so dramatic. We're all perfectly fine."

There was a pause after Jacob laughed as I waited for him to ask his question.

"How is she?"

"She's fine. She's sleeping, finally."

"Is _he _with her?"

I suddenly became very aware that Edward, Rose, and Emmett were more than likely listening to my conversation. I sighed. "Yes, he is."

"Of course," he murmured. "Bella forgave him."

"She did," I said.

"Wonderful," he said. I heard his voice crack. "Are they staying?"

"Um . . . I don't know. Hold on," I said.

I pulled the phone away from my ear and covered the mouth piece. "Are you guys coming back to Forks?"

"_I_ am," said Edward.

"We _all_ are. Esme decided it," said Rose.

I put the phone back to my face. "Yes."

Jacob sighed. "All right . . . anything else you needed?"

"Yes," I said. "I know Sam's got Embry on patrol until noon, but could you tell Embry I'm coming home? I miss him."

"Oh, gross," he said.

I laughed. "Shut up."

He chuckled, though it seemed forced. "I'll tell him. When will you be home?"

"In like twenty minutes," I said.

"Okay," he said. "I'll see you later, B."

"Bye, Jake, you're the best," I said.

"Sure, sure."

* * *

><p>I was jumpy when we pulled onto my street. I was excited to be home and wanted to go to La Push. I missed Embry. I missed him so much that my chest ached.<p>

Emmett slowed slightly to pretend he drove safely and parked at the street.

The front door opened and he was standing in the doorway.

Embry.

I hadn't seen him in three days.

He was wearing shorts and a black T-shirt, white tennis shoes on his feet, just like always. His hair, which had been growing back in, was a mess on top of his head. I could sense the tension in him, the worry. His muscles were locked, his fingertips trembling. His nose was wrinkled, more than likely from the vampire smell.

I opened the door and stood up from the car. When I locked eyes with him, his entire body relaxed and his hands stopped trembling. He lurched forward, running to me at the car.

I slammed the door shut and sprinted toward him.

His arms opened at the exact moment I jumped into them. I locked my arms around his neck as he circled his around me, and then buried my face into his neck. I promised myself that I would never be separated from him again. I wrapped in his warm embrace, I finally felt safe.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," I murmured.

"Me, too," he spoke into my hair, which was falling around me.

"I'm never leaving again," I whispered.

"Good because I missed you," he replied. He took a breath and flinched. "Oh, my nose is burning."

I pulled away and he set me back on my feet, his hands on my waist. I placed mine at the angle in his arm and leaned back to look him in the face. "I'm sorry I smell like vamp."

He laughed and shook his head. "I don't even care right now. I'm just so glad you're home."

I grinned but the image of Embry's face when I had left his house rose in my mind.

"Embry, I was being stupid -" I began but he cut me off.

"Bianca," he said and I felt butterflies attack my stomach. "_I_ love you: not the imprint. These feelings aren't fake. You are the reason I exist, the one thing I cannot live without. I love you, till the day I die."

He lifted his hand and used his thumb to wipe away my 'happy-reunion' tears. He left his hand there, cupping my cheek.

"I love you, too," I murmured.

He returned my smile. Then, still cupping my cheek, he leaned down and kissed me.

I didn't care that Rosalie and Emmett were still in the car, more than likely disapproving of Embry. I didn't care that my Dad was going to walk out there any second and tell us to stop. I didn't care that Edward was carrying my exhausted sister upstairs and that life was going to get extremely difficult for everyone now that the Cullens were moving back.

I didn't care about anything except for Embry and his lips on mine. I only cared that I was happy, I was home, and that I was going to be with Embry for the rest of my life.

**That's it for this one. Please, review and tell me what you think. If anyone wants a sequel, I'd be happy to oblige.**

**Thank you!**


	20. Author's Note: Sequel

**I just wanted to let everyone know that the sequel to this story is posted. It's called A Sister's Choice and follows Bianca's journey through Breaking Dawn. I'm very excited and I hope everyone will read it!**


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